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As a new round of U.S.-Iran talks gets under way, Trump's hardening rhetoric and his new demand for zero uranium enrichment, as well as intensifying military posturing on both sides, indicate low chances of success. That makes war – favored by Netanyahu – more likely

Ahead of Tuesday's talks between the U.S. and Iran, the president has continued to push for a negotiated deal amid continued threats of military action if Iran refuses

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be involved “indirectly” in high-stakes talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear program set for Tuesday in Geneva, adding he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal. “I’ll be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they’ll be very important,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Tensions are soaring ahead of the talks, with the US deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East. The US military is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, US officials have told Reuters. Asked about the prospects for a deal, Trump said Iran has long sought a tough posture in negotiations but learned the consequences of that approach last summer when the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites. Trump suggested Tehran was motivated this time to negotiate. “I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump said. Washington pushes Tehran to forego enrichment Prior to the US strikes in June, U...

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said at a conference for American Jewish organization presidents in Jerusalem that he doubts Iran will abandon nuclear or missile ambitions. In Tel Aviv, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Trump is still deliberating between a diplomatic or military response to Iran

Iran said on Monday that the United States’s position on Iran’s nuclear programme “has moved towards a more realistic one”, a day ahead of a second round of US-Iranian talks in Geneva. Tehran’s foreign minister arrived in Geneva for the new round of indirect negotiations with the US, as the Revolutionary Guards began military drills in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for oil and gas. The two sides recently resumed indirect talks, mediated by Oman, after US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened military action against Iran over a deadly crackdown on protesters last month. A previous attempt at negotiations collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. “A cautious assessment is that, from the discussions that have taken place in Muscat to date, at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one,” said foreign ministry spokesma...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with the IAEA chief in Geneva, saying he seeks a 'fair and equitable deal' without yielding to threats. Ahead of Tuesday's U.S.-Iran talks, Tehran launched naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, signaling defiance amid Washington's military buildup

Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the United States that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday, days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington. Iran and the US renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation. The US has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, US officials have told Reuters. “For the sake of an agreement’s durability, it is essential that the US also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns,” foreign ministry deputy director for economic diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. Iran has threatened retaliation against any US attack, but the official struck a conciliatory note on Sunday. “Common interests in the oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining i...

MUNICH - The son of Iran’s toppled former monarch on Saturday told a mass rally in Munich he is ready to lead Iran’s “transition,” as demonstrators demanded the overthrow of Iran’s rulers.

US President Donald Trump on Friday embraced potential regime change in Iran and declared that “tremendous power” will soon be in the Middle East, as the Pentagon sent a second aircraft carrier to the region. Trump’s military moves and tough talk come even as Washington and Tehran seek to revive diplomacy over Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West. Asked if he wanted regime change in Iran, Trump responded that it “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.” He declined to share who he wanted to take over Iran, but said, “there are people.” “For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking,” Trump said after a military event at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk. Legs blown off, arms blown off, faces blown off. We’ve been going on for a long time.” Washington wants nuclear talks with Iran to also cover the country’s ballistic missiles, support for armed groups around the region and the treatment of the Iranian people. ...

The Pentagon is sending an aircraft carrier from the Caribbean to the Middle East, US officials said on Friday, a move that would put two carriers in the region as tensions soar between the United States and Iran. The Gerald R. Ford carrier, the United States’ newest and the world’s largest carrier, has been operating in the Caribbean with its escort ships and took part in operations in Venezuela earlier this year. Asked why a second aircraft carrier was headed to the Middle East, US President Donald Trump said: “In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it … if we need it, we’ll have it ready.” One of the officials, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said the carrier would take at least a week to reach the Middle East. The Gerald R. Ford will join the Abraham Lincoln carrier, several guided-missile destroyers, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft that have been moved to the Middle East in recent weeks. The United States most recently had two aircraft carriers in the area last year, when it carried ...

'This will be very traumatic for Iran if they don't make a deal,' Trump said on Wednesday after meeting with Netanyahu. Shortly after the talks, it was reported that the Pentagon ordered a second carrier to prepare for deployment amid efforts to coerce Iran into a deal over its nuclear program

Netanyahu said earlier Thursday that he maintained Israel's interests during the meeting, which he says include Iran's nuclear program, ballistic missiles and regional proxies. Trump later said 'this will be very traumatic for Iran if they don't make a deal'

The Washington meeting left much to be desired after Trump said 'nothing definitive' had been reached. But while Netanyahu and the president don't share a vision for an Iran deal, they have a common interest in their own political survival

De Amerikaanse president Trump heeft woensdag in zijn gesprek met de Israëlische premier Benjamin Netanyahu geen concrete afspraken gemaakt, schrijft hij op zijn Truth Social. „Behalve dat ik erop heb aangedrongen dat de onderhandelingen met Iran worden voortgezet, om te zien of er een akkoord kan worden gesloten.” Volg alle ontwikkelingen over het Midden-Oosten in ons liveblog.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday appreciated efforts for easing tensions and promoting regional peace, warning that any military escalation involving Iran could destabilise the Gulf region, South and Western Asia. He said this while addressing a ceremony hosted by the Iranian embassy in Islamabad on the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. “Any instability involving Iran, or any attempt to resolve issues through military means, carries grave risks. Such actions could … undermine global peace, and cause serious harm to the global economy. The stakes are far too high for confrontation,” President Zardari said. He further stated that Pakistan opposed unilateral sanctions and coercive measures, including against Iran, and believed that “peaceful engagement best serves regional and global security”. “Pakistan welcomes efforts aimed at easing tensions and encourages continued dialogue among relevant parties in a constructive spirit, with the objective of promoting peace and stability in the regio...

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday underscored the urgent need for de-escalation and diplomatic engagement in the region, cautioning that any military confrontation involving Iran would have far-reaching and destabilising consequences for the Gulf, South Asia and the broader West Asian region.

Iran’s missile capabilities are its red line and are not a subject to be negotiated, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Wednesday, as Tehran and Washington eye a new round of talks to avert conflict. US and Iranian diplomats held indirect talks last week in Oman, amid a regional naval buildup by the US threatening Iran. “The Islamic republic’s missile capabilities are non-negotiable,” Ali Shamkhani said, according to state media, while appearing in a march commemorating the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Washington has long sought to extend talks on Iran’s nuclear capabilities to cover its missile programme as well. Iran has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, but has repeatedly ruled out linking the issue to other questions, including missiles. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to use a meeting with Trump in Washington on Wednesday to push for any US-Iran deal to include limitations on Tehran’s missil...

In interviews with Israeli media, American president said the United States would have to do 'something very tough' if a deal is not reached with Iran

The United States will have to do “something very tough” if a deal is not reached with Iran, President Donald Trump told Israel’s Channel 12 in an interview published online on Tuesday. “Either we reach a deal, or we’ll have to do something very tough,” it quoted Trump as saying. Trump has said he is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, Axios and Channel 12 reported, amid simmering tensions between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme and over its recent crackdown on protesters. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” Trump told Axios, though he noted that Iran “wants to make a deal very badly”. Trump initially threatened military action against Tehran over its crackdown on protesters last month. Subsequently, the US said that a naval strike group led by an aircraft carrier was deployed to Middle Eastern waters amid tensions between the two countries. However, the countries held talks in Oman last week, which Iran called a good star...

Netanyahu says Iran talks top his agenda with Trump, urging a tougher US stance on Tehran’s missiles