Trump says US could strike Iran again within days as Tehran warns of 'new fronts'

Tensions between the United States and Iran escalated sharply on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said Washington could launch fresh military strikes against Iran within days if ongoing negotiations fail, while Tehran warned it would retaliate by opening “new fronts” against the US.

Speaking at the White House, Trump claimed he had been close to authorising military action before pausing the decision following requests from American allies in the Gulf region.

“I was about an hour away from making a decision,” Trump told reporters, adding that Gulf partners had informed him that negotiations brokered by Pakistan were making progress and requested additional time for diplomacy.

The US President said he agreed to allow “a limited period of time — two or three days, at least” for talks to continue. However, he warned that military action remained on the table.

“It could be Friday, it could be the weekend, it could be early next week,” Trump said while discussing the possibility of renewed strikes. “We can’t let them have a new nuclear weapon.”

Trump also claimed that Iranian leaders were “begging” for a deal, though he did not provide further details.

Referring to previous failed negotiations, Trump said the current round of diplomacy appeared different from earlier attempts.

“We’ve had periods of time where we had, we thought, pretty much getting close to making a deal, and it didn’t work out. But this is a little bit different,” he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli broadcaster Kan TV reported that the United States and Israel had completed joint preparations for a possible resumption of military operations against Iran.

Citing a US security official, the report said, “The United States and Israel are fully coordinated. Neither side will be surprised if a decision is made to resume the war.”

According to the report, the Israeli military has also strengthened defensive preparations amid fears that growing speculation about renewed conflict could trigger a preemptive Iranian response.

There was no immediate reaction from the Israeli government. However, Israel’s Home Front Command said its civilian defence guidelines would remain unchanged at least through Saturday night.

Iran responded with strong warnings against any future American military action.

Iranian army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia told ISNA news agency that Tehran would retaliate aggressively if attacked again.

“If the enemy acts foolishly, falls into the Israeli trap and commits another aggression, we will open new fronts against them with new methods,” Akraminia said in remarks shared by ISNA on X.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also said the country remained united and prepared to respond firmly to any military aggression.

He accused Washington of simultaneously pausing attacks for negotiations while continuing to threaten Iran with large-scale military action.

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With inputs from Reuters