• Trump indicates Iran may be willing to make a deal.
• US and Iran hold indirect nuclear talks in Geneva.
• US military prepares for potential operations against Iran.

GENEVA: The US and Iran hold indirect talks in Geneva on Tuesday aimed at resolving their long-running nuclear dispute, with little clear indication of compromise as Washington masses a battle force in the region.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will take part in the negotiations, which are being mediated by Oman, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

US President Donald Trump said that he would be involved “indirectly” in the Geneva talks and that he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal.

“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday. “We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s.”

Tehran knows that a previous attempt to revive talks was underway in June last year when Washington’s ally Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, and was then joined by US B-2 bombers that struck nuclear targets. Tehran has since said it has halted uranium enrichment activity.

The US military is preparing for the possibility of weeks of operations against Iran if Trump orders an attack, two US officials told Reuters.

Iran itself began a military drill on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international waterway and oil export route from Gulf Arab states, which have been appealing for diplomacy to end the dispute.

Iran-US nuclear talks under shadow of protests and war

Tehran and Washington renewed negotiations on February 6 on their decades-long dispute.

Washington and its close ally Israel believe Iran aspires to build a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel’s existence. Iran says its nuclear programme is purely peaceful, even though it has enriched uranium far beyond the purity needed for power generation, and close to what is required for a bomb.

Since the June strikes, Iran’s rulers have been weakened by street protests, put down at a cost of thousands of lives, against a cost-of-living crisis driven in part by international sanctions that have strangled Iran’s oil income.

Unlike last time, the US has now placed what Trump calls a massive naval armada in the region.

Washington has sought to expand the scope of talks to non-nuclear issues such as Iran’s missile stockpile. Tehran says it is willing only to discuss curbs on its nuclear programme – in exchange for sanctions relief – and that it will not give up uranium enrichment completely or discuss its missile programme.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a news conference in Budapest that it was hard to do a deal with Iran, but the US was willing to try.

Iran’s Araqchi on Monday met Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Geneva to discuss cooperation with the IAEA and technical aspects of the impending talks with the US

On Tuesday afternoon, Witkoff and Kushner will participate in three-way talks with Russia and Ukraine as Washington attempts to coax Ukraine and Russia into an agreement to end Moscow’s four-year-old invasion of Ukraine, the source said.

• “That was the day of great liberation,” says Yunus.
• Newly-elected lawmakers expected to sworn in on Tuesday.
• Ex-interim leader congratulated BNP over landslide victory.
  

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus stepped down on Monday in a farewell broadcast to the nation before handing over to an elected government.

“Today, the interim government is stepping down,” the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said.

“But let the practice of democracy, freedom of speech, and fundamental rights that has begun not be halted.”

Yunus returned from self-imposed exile in August 2024, days after the iron-fisted government of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown by a student-led uprising and she fled by helicopter to India.

“That was the day of great liberation,” he said. “What a day of joy it was! Bangladeshis across the world shed tears of happiness. The youth of our country freed it from the grip of a demon.”

He has led Bangladesh as its “chief adviser” since, and now hands over power after congratulating the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leader Tarique Rahman on a “landslide victory” in elections last week.

“The people, voters, political parties, and stakeholder institutions linked to the election have set a commendable example,” Yunus said.

“This election has set a benchmark for future elections.”

Rahman, 60, chief of the BNP and scion of one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, will lead the South Asian nation of 170 million.

‘Rebuilt institutions’

Bangladeshi voters endorsed sweeping democratic reforms in a national referendum, a key pillar of Yunus’s post-uprising transition agenda, on the same day as the elections.

The lengthy document, known as the “July Charter” after the month when the uprising that toppled Hasina began, proposes term limits for prime ministers, the creation of an upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.

“We did not start from zero — we started from a deficit,” he said.

“Sweeping away the ruins, we rebuilt institutions and set the course for reforms.”

The referendum noted that approval would make the charter “binding on the parties that win” the election, obliging them to endorse it.

However, several parties raised questions before the vote, and the reforms will still require ratification by the new parliament.

The BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Election Commission.

Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman conceded on Saturday, saying his party would “serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition.”

Newly elected lawmakers are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday, after which Tarique Rahman is set to become Bangladesh’s next prime minister.

Police records show that political clashes during the campaign period killed five people and injured more than 600.

However, despite weeks of turbulence ahead of the polls, voting day passed without major unrest and the country has responded to the results with relative calm.

Pakistan and Austria have agreed to further cement their bilateral relationship in diverse fields including economic cooperation, trade and investment, tourism, hospitality, education, IT, healthcare, human resource development and mobility.

The understanding was reached during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker in Vienna on Monday.

Both leaders agreed to work towards the early finalization of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) covering these priority sectors. They also exchanged views on regional and global developments, reaffirming the central role of the United Nations in addressing challenges related to peace and security, peaceful dispute resolution, sustainable development, climate action and the promotion of human rights.

The two sides expressed their shared commitment to multilateralism and appreciated mutual support for each other’s candidatures at international forums, while pledging to work with the global community to strengthen the UN system.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chancellor Stocker also co-chaired a CEOs Forum comprising leading Austrian and Pakistani companies. The participating firms represented sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, industrial manufacturing and construction, IT, textiles, surgical equipment, leather and sports goods, healthcare, tourism and hospitality, and food and agro-industries.

It was agreed to enhance government-to-government (G2G), government-to-business (G2B), and business-to-business (B2B) engagements through effective utilization of existing platforms.

The Prime Minister invited Austrian businesses to participate in the upcoming EU-Pakistan Business Forum scheduled to be held in Islamabad in April.

Shehbaz Sharif thanked Chancellor Stocker for the productive meetings, expressing hope that the visit would provide fresh momentum to bilateral ties. He also extended an invitation to the Austrian Chancellor to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience.

Upon his arrival at the Federal Chancellery, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was received by Chancellor Stocker and accorded a guard of honour. He later held a restricted meeting with the Chancellor, followed by delegation-level talks.