Iran 'offers US firms investment opportunities' as crunch talks resume

Iran is seeking to entice US president Donald Trump with potential business opportunities, including investment in its oil and gas sector, as high-stakes nuclear talks resume on Thursday, the Financial Times reported.

One source familiar with the matter said Tehran believes offering the prospect of significant financial returns for the US could appeal to Trump’s deal-making instincts.

Describing the prospect of investment opportunities as "a major economic bonanza", the source said they were "specifically directed at Trump" in fields including oil and gas and mining rights, critical minerals, the source added.

The report comes ahead of the third round of high-stakes talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva on Thursday.

The talks come amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear activities and efforts to prevent an escalation into open conflict.

A senior US official said no commercial offer had yet been made to the US.

"This was never discussed. President Trump has been clear that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon or the capacity to build one," the official said.

A second source confirmed that no proposal had been formally presented to Washington, but added that there had been discussions on Iran offering US investments in gas and oil.

"[Iran is] looking at Venezuela as a case study," the source said.

The US president has promised to open up Venezuela’s oil industry to US oil companies following the abduction of the country's president, Nicolas Maduro. 

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Iran presented a proposal expected to gauge the US’s "seriousness" through Omani mediators on Thursday, according to Iran’s state media outlet IRNA.

"Rejecting it would amount to confirming the initial suspicion that the United States is not genuinely committed to diplomacy and that its diplomatic posture is merely a game," the report said.

The proposal followed fresh US sanctions targeting more than 30 individuals and entities, accusing "shadow fleet" vessels of enabling Iran’s illicit petroleum sales, as well as its ballistic missile and weapons production.

Araghchi said on Wednesday that the country’s missiles are "defensive in nature", rejecting Trump’s claim that Tehran is developing a missile capable of reaching the US mainland.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday said "Tehran won’t develop nuclear weapons" since Iran’s ⁠Supreme ⁠Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned weapons ⁠of mass destruction in early 2000s.