Iranian officials held out hope for progress towards a deal to forestall fresh conflict when talks with US negotiators resume on Thursday, despite a huge American military build-up in the Middle East.
Speaking to CBS News on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said details of a possible deal were being drawn up ahead of the renewed talks on Tehran's nuclear programme.
Badr Albusaidi, the foreign minister of regional mediator Oman, said talks would resume on Thursday in Geneva "with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalising the deal".
US threats of military action have multiplied since a nationwide protest movement in Iran sparked a deadly crackdown.
"If the US attacks us, then we have every right to defend ourselves," Araghchi said, alluding to American interests in the region as potential targets.
Still, he said, "There is a good chance of having a diplomatic solution.”
In a social media post, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian likewise said previous talks "yielded encouraging signals".
After a recent round of discussions in Geneva, Iran said it was preparing a draft proposal for an agreement that would avert military action.
"I believe that when we meet, probably this Thursday in Geneva again, we can work on those elements and prepare a good text and come to a fast deal," Araghchi told CBS.
Axios had earlier reported, citing an unnamed senior US official, that if Iran submitted its proposal in the next 48 hours, Washington was ready to meet again later in the week "to start detailed negotiations".
The US has sent two aircraft carriers to the Middle East in recent weeks, along with other jets and ships, and has also shored up its air defences in the region to back up its threats of military intervention.
US President Donald Trump's chief Middle East negotiator, Witkoff, said in a Fox News interview broadcast Saturday that the president was questioning why Iran had not yet given in to the pressure.
Western governments fear Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at developing a bomb, which Tehran has long denied, though it insists on its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.
On the subject of uranium enrichment, Araghchi said Sunday that Iran had "every right to decide for ourselves".
A previous round of diplomacy last year was interrupted by Israel's bombing campaign against Iran.
That sparked a 12-day war in June that the US briefly joined with strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a series of security consultations Sunday evening to discuss Iran and the possibility of a broader regional confrontation, according to local media.
Channel 12 reported that the discussions will be headlined by a meeting of the Security Cabinet amid growing assessments of a potential US attack on Iran.
The Security Cabinet is expected to receive comprehensive briefings on multiple fronts, including developments related to Iran.
