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 agree a deal, “in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime.”
CNN and CBS reported Wednesday that the US military will be ready to launch strikes against Iran as early as this weekend, though Trump has reportedly not made a final decision yet.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump has been briefed on his military options with “all of them designed to maximize damage,” including a campaign to “kill scores of Iranian political and military leaders, with the goal of overthrowing the government,” unnamed US officials told the newspaper.
Earlier on Wednesday, Tehran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said Iran was “drafting” a framework for future talks with the US.
Iran and the US held a second round of Oman-mediated negotiations on Tuesday in Geneva.
