Bombay Durpun - Iran negotiators head to Geneva for US talks, president strikes hopeful tone

Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened strikes if Iran fails to cut a deal on its atomic programme, and in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, the US president accused Tehran of "sinister nuclear ambitions" after he ordered a massive military deployment around the Gulf.

But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that he had a "favourable outlook for the negotiations", after Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his team left for Switzerland.

"We are continuing the process under the guidance of the supreme leader so that we can move beyond this 'neither war nor peace' situation," Pezeshkian said in a speech.

Trump in his address claimed that Tehran had "already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America".

He also said that Iran was "at this moment again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions".

But Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Wednesday refuted those claims as "simply the repetition of 'big lies'".

The maximum range of Iran's missiles is 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) according to what Tehran has publicly disclosed, though the US Congressional Research Service estimates they top out at about 3,000 kilometres -- less than a third of the distance to the continental United States.

- 'Historic opportunity' -

The West believes Iran is seeking an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful.

"My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy but one thing is certain: I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Hours before Trump's speech, Iran's Araghchi declared the two sides had "a historic opportunity", saying a deal was "within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority".

He vowed Iran would "under no circumstances" develop atomic weapons, but insisted on its right to peacefully use nuclear technology.

Iran and the US held five rounds of nuclear talks last year, but those negotiations ended after Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran triggered a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined.

- 'People are suffering' -

In recent weeks Trump has deployed two aircraft carrier groups and dozens of other warplanes to the region to back up his threats, and Iran has repeatedly said it would respond firmly to any attack, even a limited one.

Tehran residents who spoke to AFP on Wednesday were divided as to whether there would be renewed conflict.

Some said war was all but inevitable, while one salesman who gave his name as Mehdi predicted the negotiations would succeed, saying: "The Americans are bluffing."

Homemaker Tayebeh noted that Trump had "said that war would be very bad for Iran".

"There would be famine and people would suffer a lot. People are suffering now, but at least with war, our fate might be clear," she added.

"It looks like President Trump has cornered himself," Hokayem said, adding the US leader may have predicted the "Iranians would cave quickly", which they have yet to do.

"At this point, the force posture is such that if the US were to pull back without (an agreement), it could come at the credibility of the president himself."

G.Vaidya--BD