The latest round of U.S.-Iran negotiations ended without a deal. U.S. negotiators demanded that Iran dismantle its nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz and turn over its remaining enriched uranium stockpile to the United States, and they insisted that the terms of any deal have no expiration. Iran rejected transferring its enriched uranium abroad and objected to ending enrichment, destroying nuclear sites, or permanent limits on its nuclear program. Iran proposed reducing its enrichment level to 1.5%, pausing enrichment for a period of years, or enriching uranium through an Arab-Iranian consortium based in Iran. The United States may consider allowing Iran to enrich a limited amount of uranium for its research reactor in Tehran, according to U.S. officials. The talks took place in Geneva and were mediated by Oman's foreign ministry, which said technical experts would continue to negotiate in Vienna the following week. Meanwhile, an additional destroyer joined the U.S. fleet in waters near Iran, and a U.S. aircraft carrier approached the Eastern Mediterranean. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran's refusal to discuss its ballistic missile program was a major problem for the United States.

Iran and Russia agreed to a nearly €500 million arms deal which would give Iran 2,500 9M336 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles and 500 Verba man-portable launch units. The contract was signed in December 2025 and provides for deliveries in three tranches between 2027 and 2029. However, a source close to the project said that a smaller number of systems may have been delivered early, and Iran’s ambassador to Russia implied that multiple recent cargo flights contained military hardware. The Verba system is designed to target cruise missiles, low-flying aircraft and drones at a range of 6 kilometers, and can be operated without fixed radar installations. Iran requested the systems in July 2025 after its 12-day war with Israel.

Senior U.S. and Iranian officials held indirect negotiations in Oman, in which Iran rejected the U.S. demand of ending uranium enrichment inside Iran. U.S. officials have also sought limits on Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for regional proxies, whereas Iran maintains that it will only negotiate over its nuclear activities. Both sides expressed willingness to continue talks. Earlier in the week, Iran had flown a drone at a U.S. aircraft carrier and sent armed vessels to harass a U.S.-flagged oil tanker. The United States was amassing air and naval forces near Iran.

Iranian businessman Ali Ansari, who was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in late 2025 for funding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), owns €400 million in property across Europe. Corporate filings show that Ansari owns resorts, hotels, and shopping centers in Germany and Spain. He controls his properties through shell companies registered in Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom, most of which are ultimately owned by a St. Kitts and Nevis-registered holding company. Ansari previously owned multiple London properties worth £150 million, which were frozen when he was sanctioned by the United Kingdom, and held a stake in an Austrian ski resort, which he was excluded from by the owners. Ansari denies the existence of a financial relationship between him and the IRGC. His family founded the Iranian lender Ayandeh Bank, which collapsed in October 2025.