ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Tehran and Washington had reached a “general agreement on a series of guiding principles” for a new deal, after a Geneva meeting between the two sides.

Araghchi's remarks came after representatives from Iran and the US met for a new round of negotiations in Geneva, with Araghchi saying that "there was a more positive atmosphere" in the talks this time around.

"Good progress was made compared to the previous meeting," Araghchi said after the meeting, adding that "the path has begun and can lead to an agreement."

The top Iranian diplomat noted that "When it comes to drafting and writing an agreement, the work becomes more difficult," saying that "both sides have positions that will take some time to come closer to each other."

Araghchi personally headed Iran's delegation to Geneva, to meet a negotiating delegation from the US with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff at the helm, coming after the two countries restarted indirect nuclear talks earlier in February in Oman.

Reports of the US sending the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, to the Middle East were recently confirmed by President Donald Trump, seeking to back up the USS Abraham Lincoln already in the Gulf, amid the uncertainties surrounding the results of negotiations with Iran.

The American president said late Monday that he will be “indirectly” involved in the US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva, warning of potential consequences of not reaching a deal. 

“I’ll be involved in those talks, indirectly, and they’ll be very important,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.