The U.S. and Iran are holding their second round of talks about Iran’s nuclear program Tuesday in Geneva as the United States ramps up its military presence in the Middle East and Iran holds large-scale maritime exercises.

As the talks began, Iranian media announced that Iran had fired live missiles towards the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had announced a maritime military exercise on Monday in waterways that are crucial international trade routes through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said missiles launched inside Iran and along its coast had struck their targets in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state TV reported Tuesday that the negotiations with the U.S. will be indirect and will focus only on Iran’s nuclear program, not domestic policies, including its bloody crackdown on protesters last month.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to constrain its nuclear program. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump has also threatened Iran over its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests.

The first round of talks Feb. 6 were held in Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, and were indirect, with SUVs flying the American flag entering the palace venue only after it appeared the Iranian officials had left. The arrangements for Tuesday’s round of negotiations were not clear.

Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were traveling for the new round of talks. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Budapest, Hungary, said Monday that the U.S. hopes to achieve a deal with Iran, despite the difficulties. “I’m not going to prejudge these talks,” Rubio said. “The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the talks for Iran, met with the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency Monday in Geneva.

“I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal,” Araghchi wrote on X. “What is not on the table: submission before threats.”

Talking to reporters Monday night aboard Air Force One on his way to Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump said of the U.S.-Iran talks, “I’ll be involved in those talks — indirectly — and they’ll be very important, and we’ll see what can happen.”

“Typically, Iran’s a very tough negotiator,” he said, first describing Iran as “good negotiators” before correcting himself. “I would say they’re bad negotiators, because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B2s in to knock out their nuclear potential, and we had to send the B2s. I hope they’re going to be more reasonable.”

Trump added: “I think they want to make a deal. I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal.”

The U.S. is also hosting talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday, days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the all-out Russian invasion of its neighbor.

(AP)