President \u2060Donald Trump \u200bhas revived the threat that the United States is ready to launch a military attack against Iran as he demanded that Tehran make a deal over its nuclear programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cA massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose,\u201d he said in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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The US president added that \u201chopefully Iran will quickly \u2018Come to the Table\u2019 and negotiate a fair and equitable deal \u2013 NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS \u2013 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!\u201d<\/p>\n
In an apparent reference to the US bombing of three of Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities in June, the US president warned that should Tehran fail to agree a deal, the next attack would \u200cbe \u201cfar \u200cworse\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s outburst came shortly after Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country would not restart negotiations amid the threat of an attack.<\/p>\n
Tehran\u2019s top diplomat insisted that his country has not sought to restart negotiations and would not do so while the threats persist.<\/p>\n
\u2018Menaces and demands\u2019<\/p>\n
Trump<\/a> has repeatedly indicated that he is considering ordering military action in response to Tehran\u2019s crackdown on antigovernment protests earlier this month, raising tension across the region.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no contact between me and [US envoy Steve] Witkoff in recent days and no request for negotiations was made from us,\u201d Araghchi told state media.<\/p>\n \u201cOur stance is clear: Negotiations don\u2019t go along with threats, and talks can only take place when there are no longer menaces and excessive demands,\u201d the diplomat said.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Araghchi had said his country was ready for war<\/a> if Washington wanted to \u201ctest\u201d it.<\/p>\n The comments came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian<\/a> hit out against US \u201cthreats\u201d, saying they were \u201caimed at disrupting the security of the region and will achieve nothing other than instability\u201d.<\/p>\n The bullish riposte appears to contradict remarks from Turkiye\u2019s foreign minister. Speaking to Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Hakan Fidan<\/a> suggested \u201cIran is ready to negotiate a nuclear file again\u201d.<\/p>\n In June, as indirect negotiations on the nuclear programme were under way, the US joined Israel in its 12-day war on Iran by bombing three of its main nuclear facilities<\/a>. The attacks killed 430 people.<\/p>\n Iranian officials have promised to launch<\/a> a \u201ccomprehensive and regret-inducing response\u201d if attacked again.<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly claimed that the US attack in June \u201cobliterated\u201d the Iranian nuclear programme, which Western nations and international institutions worry is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n However, Tehran insists the programme has strictly civilian purposes and it has the right to carry out the enrichment of uranium.<\/p>\n The whereabouts of the country\u2019s highly enriched uranium have remained unknown since the June attacks.<\/p>\n Tension stalks the region<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the US continues to ramp up the pressure on Iran by focusing its rhetoric on the protests<\/a>, in which thousands of people are reported to have been killed.<\/p>\n The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it has confirmed at least 6,221 deaths, including at least 5,858 protesters, and is investigating 12,904 others.<\/p>\n