WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- The second round of the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks "made progress" in Geneva on Tuesday, though "there are still a lot of details to discuss," U.S. online media outlet Axios reported, citing a U.S. official.
Following the talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, the Iranian officials promised to provide detailed proposals over the next two weeks "to address some of the open gaps in our positions," said the report.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the discussions were more "constructive" than a first round held in Muscat earlier this month, claiming that the two sides had agreed on the "guiding principles" for a potential deal over Iran's nuclear program.
The ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran came as the Trump administration amassed heavy military forces near Iran for possible operations.
Last week, Trump sent a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East. More than 50 F-35, F-22 and F-16 fighter jets have moved to the region over the last 24 hours, according to the Axios report, citing open-source flight radar data and a U.S. official.
Trump also said on Friday that regime change in Iran "would be the best thing that could happen."
Some analysts warned that the expanding U.S. military buildup could narrow the window for a diplomatic resolution between Washington and Tehran.
U.S. media reported on Sunday that Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in December that the United States would support Israeli strikes on Iran's ballistic missile program if the U.S.-Iran negotiations fail. ■