Washington [US], January 29: President Donald Trump ​has revived a threat that the United States is ready to launch a military attack against Iran as he demands Tehran make a deal over its nuclear programme.
"A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose," he said in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
The US president added that "hopefully Iran will quickly 'Come to the Table' and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL!" In an apparent reference to the US bombing of three of Iran's nuclear facilities in June, the US president warned that should Tehran fail to agree a deal, the next attack would "far ".
Trump's outburst came shortly after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country would not restart negotiations while it is being threatened with an attack.
Araghchi insisted that Iran has not sought to restart negotiations and would not do so while the threats persist.
"There was no contact between me and [US envoy Steve] Witkoff in recent days, and no request for negotiations was made from us," Araghchi told state media.
"Our stance is clear: Negotiations don't go along with threats, and talks can only take place when there are no longer menaces and excessive demands," he said.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem said that behind the US's public threats, much was going on behind closed doors as mediators sought to find a solution to the crisis.
"It seems a lot is going on on the diplomatic side," he said. "Mediators are trying their best to come up with a solution because the situation right now is really very serious." Publicly, Iran was signalling its readiness to fight, Hashem added, but also its readiness to talk "whenever the negotiations are proper" and not enforced on them through military threat.
Wednesday's tensions came after the Trump administration moved the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to the region, spurring fears of a military confrontation.
Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, had said earlier this month that Iran was ready for war if Washington wanted to "test" it.
Earlier this week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hit out against the latest US "threats", saying they were "aimed at disrupting the security of the region and will achieve nothing other than instability".
Nevertheless, speaking to Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested "Iran is ready to negotiate a nuclear file again".
In June, as indirect negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme were under way, the US joined Israel in its 12-day war on Iran by bombing three of its main nuclear facilities.
The bombings killed 430 people and Iranian officials have promised to launch a "comprehensive and regret-inducing response" if attacked again.
Source: Qatar Tribune