2 hours ago
Last Updated:February 01, 2026, 08:13 IST
Donald Trump said Iran was negotiating with the United States as Washington deployed naval forces and warned of possible military action.
US President Donald Trump (File Photo/AP)
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that Iran was in talks with the United States, even as both sides kept military threats in view amid heightened tensions in the region.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said Tehran was engaged with Washington diplomatically while a major US naval deployment moved closer to Iranian waters.
“(Iran is) talking to us, and we’ll see if we can do something, otherwise we’ll see what happens. We have a big fleet heading out there," he said.
“They are negotiating," Trump added.
The President said US allies in the region were not being briefed about any potential military plans, citing security concerns.
“Well, we can’t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan, it could be worse, actually," he said.
Washington has dispatched warships led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln toward Iran’s shores, following Trump’s threats to intervene after Tehran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.
IRAN SAYS STRUCTURES FOR TALKS ADVANCING
Meanwhile, Iran’s top security official was quoted by AFP as saying that progress was being made toward negotiations, while cautioning against US military action.
“Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing," said Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme Security Council.
He spoke a day after Russian officials confirmed he had met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also sought to project restraint, saying a broader conflict would harm both sides.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought, and in no way seeks, war, and it is firmly convinced that a war would be in the interest of neither Iran, nor the United States, nor the region," he said during a call with Egypt’s leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to the Iranian presidency.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said its Prime Minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, had met Larijani in Tehran in an effort to “de-escalate tensions in the region".
FEARS OF CONFLICT AND MILITARY WARNINGS
The arrival of the US flotilla has stoked fears of direct confrontation, with Iran warning it would respond with missile strikes on US bases, ships and allies, notably Israel, if attacked.
Trump has said he believes Tehran will choose to strike a deal over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face military action, while Iran has insisted it is ready for nuclear talks only if its missile and defence capabilities are excluded.
Iranian army chief Amir Hatami warned Washington and Israel against any strike, saying his forces were “at full defensive and military readiness".
“If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime," he said, according to state media.
NAVAL DRILLS, PROTESTS AND RISING TOLL
US regional command United States Central Command said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, would stage a two-day live-fire naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz, warning against “any unsafe and unprofessional behaviour near US forces".
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, responded on X that Washington was attempting to dictate how Iranian forces trained in their own waters.
Authorities have reported at least 3,117 deaths in the protests that erupted late last year, while the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed 6,713 fatalities, including 137 children.
At a border crossing with Turkey, Iranians interviewed by AFP described fleeing violence and repression, underscoring the deep uncertainty surrounding the standoff between Tehran and Washington.
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First Published:
February 01, 2026, 08:13 IST
News world 'Iran Negotiating, We'll See What Happens,' Says Donald Trump; Tehran Echoes
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