Trump says Iran wants a deal, but Tehran warns it is ready for negotiations or war as US deploys USS Abraham Lincoln and destroyers and EU lists Revolutionary Guard.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he believed Iran wanted to make a deal to avoid military action, adding that he had set Tehran an undisclosed deadline to respond as US ships steam towards the region.
“I can say this, they do want to make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Asked if he had given a deadline, Trump said “yeah I have” but said that “only they know for sure” what it was.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran was open to negotiations to ease tensions with the United States but stressed that no concrete plans exist for meetings with American officials.
“We are ready for fair and equitable negotiations,” Araghchi said at a joint news conference in Istanbul with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. “For such negotiations, arrangements must first be made — regarding the form of the talks, the location of the talks and the topic of the talks.”
Araghchi added that Iran had no plans to “meet with the Americans,” warning that while Tehran prefers diplomacy, it is prepared for escalation if necessary. “The Islamic Republic of Iran, just as it is ready for negotiations, it is also ready for war,” he said.
Tensions have risen sharply as the US military deploys more assets to the region. US Central Command said on Friday that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier had arrived in the Arabian Sea, alongside several guided-missile destroyers. It remains unclear whether Trump will authorise the use of force.
Iran is facing the threat of US military action following its violent crackdown on nationwide protests, which began over economic grievances before expanding into a broader challenge to the Islamic Republic’s leadership. Activists say at least 6,479 people have been killed during the unrest.
Turkey has strongly opposed any military intervention against Iran, warning it would destabilise the region. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday offered to act as a “facilitator” between Tehran and Washington during a phone call with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to Erdogan’s office.
Fidan echoed that stance, saying Ankara favoured diplomacy over force. “We are against resorting to military options to solve problems, and we do not believe this will be very effective,” he said. “We advocate for negotiation and diplomacy.”
Araghchi’s visit to Turkey came as Ankara works to reduce broader regional tensions following threats of potential US military action against Iran.
The diplomatic efforts come against the backdrop of mounting pressure from Europe. A day earlier, the European Union agreed to designate Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation, citing Tehran’s bloody suppression of protests.
Iran has responded by considering retaliatory measures. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran was weighing the designation of EU militaries as “terrorist entities.” Iran’s parliament is expected to pass related legislation on Sunday, he said in a post on X. The EU did not immediately comment.
Earlier this week, Araghchi warned on X that Iran’s military stood ready “with their fingers on the trigger” to respond to any attack by land, air or sea. In a later post, he appeared to criticise the EU’s move against the Revolutionary Guard, saying several countries were trying to prevent a full-scale regional war — and that “none of them are European.”
“We are against resorting to military options to solve problems, and we do not believe that this will be very effective,” Fidan said. “We advocate for negotiation and diplomacy.”
Araghchi’s visit to Turkey came a day after the European United agreed to list Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a “terrorist organization” over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on protesters.
In retaliation, Iran is considering designating the militaries of EU countries as “terrorist entities,” Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Friday. Iran’s parliament is expected to pass the law on Sunday, he wrote on X. The European Union did not immediately comment.
Araghchi on Wednesday posted on X that Iran’s military is prepared “with their fingers on the trigger” to respond to any attack, whether by land, air and sea. In a later post, he indirectly criticized the EU’s move against the Guard, saying that “several countries are presently attempting to avert the eruption of all-out war in our region. None of them are European.”
With inputs from agencies
End of Article
