Iran | News

  • Top Democrat says 'billionaire Epstein class' pushing for U.S. war on Iran
    Haaretz - 10:13 Feb 19, 2026
    The Massachusetts Democrat's comment is the latest instance of a growing trend among Democrats – tying the so-called 'Epstein class' to issues of the day, whether relating to specific policy concerns like Iran or more big-picture trends
  • Reports: Trump remains undecided on Iran strike, as U.S. considers 'weeks-long' attack
    Haaretz - 09:23 Feb 19, 2026
    According to reports, President Donald Trump has been informed that the U.S. military is prepared to launch a strike on Iran by the end of the coming weekend. The Kremlin urged 'restraint' amid an 'unprecedented escalation' and Poland called on nationals to evacuate Iran
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  • White House tells Iran to do deal as Trump hints at US strikes
    Dawn - 07:57 Feb 19, 2026
    The White House warned on Wednesday that Iran would be “wise” to do a deal with the United States as President Donald Trump once again hinted at military action. The two sides recently resumed indirect talks, mediated by Oman, after 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 last June, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. “Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with his administration,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. On Wednesday, Trump again suggested the United States might strike Iran in a post on his Truth Social site, with a US military buildup underway in the Middle East. He warned Britain against giving up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, saying that the archipelago’s Diego Garcia airbase might be needed were Iran not to agre...
  • White House: Some progress made in talks, but 'many arguments for Iran strike'
    Haaretz - 19:27 Feb 18, 2026
    U.S. President Donald Trump has been 'very clear with respect to Iran, or any country, that diplomacy is always his first option,' Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, adding that 'Iran would be very wise to make a deal with this administration'
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  • Satellite images show Iran repairing and fortifying sites amid U.S. tensions
    Haaretz - 16:29 Feb 18, 2026
    Satellite images reveal Iran is shielding a site hit by Israel and burying nuclear tunnel entrances bombed by the U.S. last year. The fortification of missile bases comes as Tehran and Washington remain deadlocked over a new nuclear deal.
  • US to stop Iran’s nuclear arms ambitions ‘one way or the other’: energy secretary
    Dawn - 11:52 Feb 18, 2026
    The United States will deter Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons “one way or the other”, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump “believes firmly we cannot have a nuclear-armed Iran,” Wright told reporters in Paris on the sidelines of meetings of the International Energy Agency. “They’ve been very clear about what they would do with nuclear weapons. It’s entirely unacceptable,” Wright said. “So one way or the other, we are going to end, deter Iran’s march towards a nuclear weapon,” he added. US and Iranian officials held talks in Geneva on Tuesday aimed at averting the possibility of US military intervention to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme. Iran said following the talks that they had agreed on “guiding principles” for a deal to avoid conflict. US Vice President JD Vance, however, said Tehran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington’s red lines.
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  • As Iran plays for time in talks with U.S., Israel prepares for war
    Haaretz - 21:12 Feb 17, 2026
    With Iran seeking a partial deal to ease sanctions and quiet protests, and the U.S. zigzagging between talks and further military build-up, the IDF is bracing for the worst scenario: failed talks leading to America and Iran getting into a war that might well involve Israel
  • Bitcoin price ignores $168M Strategy buy, and falls as Iran tensions escalate
    Cointelegraph.com - 16:13 Feb 17, 2026
    Bitcoin price ignores $168M Strategy buy, and falls as Iran tensions escalateBTC price fell below the key $70,000 level as tensions between the US and Iran ramped up and a broad risk-asset sell-off liquidated late BTC long positions. Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below $67,000 at Tuesday’s Wall Street open as risk assets responded to new geopolitical pressures. Key points: Bitcoin joins stocks in a geopolitics-driven sell-off to the start the US TradFi trading week. Read more
  • Iran FM says agreed with US ‘on guiding principles’ for deal
    Dawn - 14:52 Feb 17, 2026
    Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday the latest talks with the United States saw them agree on “a set of guiding principles” that would pave the way for a deal. “Ultimately, we were able to reach broad agreement on a set of guiding principles, based on which we will move forward and begin working on the text of a potential agreement,” Araghchi told state TV. “I can say that, compared with the previous round, fully serious discussions were raised and the atmosphere was more constructive,” he added. Tehran and Washington held on Tuesday a second round of negotiations — which began earlier this month — after talks last year collapsed following Israel’s attack on Iran in June, which triggered a 12-day war. That war saw the United States briefly join Israel with strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites. The latest talks were held after Washington deployed an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following Iran’s deadly crackdown last month on anti-government protests, first sparked by economic ha...
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  • Dwindling deal: U.S.-Iran talks face Trump's erratic red lines and Netanyahu's skepticism
    Haaretz - 11:22 Feb 17, 2026
    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
  • 'They want a deal': Trump says he will be involved indirectly in Iran talks
    Haaretz - 09:12 Feb 17, 2026
    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
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  • Trump says he will be involved indirectly in Iran talks
    Dawn - 04:51 Feb 17, 2026
    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...
  • Huckabee: 'Legitimate doubt' Iran will compromise; Graham: Intervention 'within weeks'
    Haaretz - 20:59 Feb 16, 2026
    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
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  • Iran says US ‘more realistic’ on nuclear issue, as Guards begin drills in Hormuz Strait
    Dawn - 18:30 Feb 16, 2026
    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...
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  • Iran meets UN nuclear watchdog before second round of U.S. talks
    Haaretz - 15:20 Feb 16, 2026
    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
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  • Iran says potential energy, mining and aircraft deals on table in talks with US
    Dawn - 15:18 Feb 15, 2026
    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...
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  • At Munich rally, Iran’s ex-crown prince says he is ready to lead democratic ‘transition’
    The Nation - National - 19:00 Feb 14, 2026
    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.
  • Trump says Iran regime change could be ‘best thing’ as second carrier heads to Middle East
    Dawn - 06:49 Feb 14, 2026
    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. ...
  • US moving second carrier to Middle East as Iran tensions build
    Dawn - 18:46 Feb 13, 2026
    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 ...
  • Second U.S. aircraft carrier – largest in the world – sent to Mideast amid tensions with Iran, source says
    Haaretz - 11:20 Feb 13, 2026
    '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
    Tags: Iran