(Corrects Rubio quote to "big problem" from "major problem" in paragraph 11 and crosshead.)
By Parisa Hafezi and Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The United States and Iran could reach a framework for a deal if Washington separates "nuclear and non-nuclear issues", a senior Iranian official told Reuters, adding that remaining gaps need to be narrowed during a third round of talks in Geneva.
The negotiations have been intense and serious, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran's right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes must be recognised and sanctions should be lifted.
Iran and the United States are holding indirect talks in Geneva over their long-running nuclear dispute, to avert a conflict after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a huge military build-up in the region.
Washington, which says Iran is seeking the capability to make a nuclear bomb, has long sought to link the talks to other issues including Iran's arsenal of missiles and its support for armed groups in the region.
Tehran, which says its nuclear programme is peaceful, has agreed in principle to accept curbs to its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions but rejects tying the talks to other issues.
Mediator Oman held out hope that Iran and the United States would make more progress at talks on Thursday after exchanging "positive and creative ideas", despite U.S. concerns about Tehran's ballistic missile programme.
Reuters reported on Sunday that Tehran was offering undefined new concessions in return for removal of sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium. Iran had said earlier on Thursday it would show flexibility at the talks.
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said negotiators had taken a pause after the third round of talks got under way on Thursday morning, and that the negotiations would resume later in the day.
"We’ve been exchanging creative and positive ideas in Geneva today, and now both U.S. and Iranian negotiators have adjourned for a break. We’ll resume later today. We hope to make more progress," he posted on X, without giving details.
BALLISTIC MISSILES A 'BIG PROBLEM'
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday Iran's refusal to discuss its ballistic missile programme was a "big problem" that would have to be addressed eventually, as the missiles were "designed solely to strike America" and pose a threat to regional stability.
"If you can't even make progress on the nuclear programme, it's going to be hard to make progress on the ballistic missiles as well," Rubio told reporters in Saint Kitts.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told Press TV on Thursday that the negotiations would focus solely on nuclear topics and the lifting of sanctions, and said Tehran goes into them with "seriousness and flexibility".
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner have been negotiating indirectly with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. The two countries renewed negotiations this month.
Trump briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, underlining that while he preferred a diplomatic solution, he would not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Trump threatened to intervene but ultimately held back in January when Iranian security forces cracked down on protests, killing thousands of people in Iran's worst domestic unrest since the era of its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Since then, Trump has deployed fighter jets and aircraft carrier strike groups in the region, hoping to pressure Iran into concessions.
Several countries have begun withdrawing dependents of diplomatic personnel and non-essential staff from some locations in the Middle East, or advising citizens to avoid travel to Iran.
PRESSURE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE IRAN
The large U.S. deployment has raised fears of a wider regional conflict. In June last year, the U.S. joined Israel in hitting Iranian nuclear sites. Iran has threatened to retaliate fiercely if attacked again.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the biggest U.S. aircraft carrier, left port near the Greek island of Crete on Thursday bound for shores near Haifa in northern Israel, where it is expected to arrive on Friday.
The U.S. has also sent around a dozen F-22 fighter jets to Israel - the first time Washington has deployed combat aircraft to the country for potential wartime operations, a U.S. official said.
The Trump administration has not formally announced the deployment. The Pentagon declined to comment.
Trump said on February 19 that Iran must make a deal in 10 to 15 days, warning that "really bad things" would otherwise happen.
Araqchi said on Tuesday Iran aimed to achieve a fair, swift deal, but reiterated that it would not forgo its right to peaceful nuclear technology. Washington views nuclear enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons.
"A deal is within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority," Araqchi said in a statement on X.
But the sides remain sharply divided - even over the scope and sequencing of relief from U.S. sanctions - a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
Within Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei faces the gravest crisis of his 36-year tenure, with an economy buckling under tightened sanctions and renewed protests following the major unrest and crackdown in January.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that Khamenei has banned weapons of mass destruction, which "clearly means Tehran won't develop nuclear weapons," reiterating a fatwa issued in the early 2000s.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Steve Holland, Patricia Zengerle, David Brunnstrom, Katharine Jackson and Joseph Ax in Washington; Francois Murphy in Vienna and Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem; Writing by Olivia Le Poidevin and Michael Georgy; Editing by Stephen Coates, Ros Russell and Timothy Heritage)
