Washington, Jan 29, (dpa/GNA) – Iran and US President Donald Trump, are once again on a collision course, with the focus this time on Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday.
Otherwise, he threatened military intervention similar to that in Venezuela and a harsher military strike than the attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.
Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami rejected Trump’s demands. According to the Iranian news agency ISNA, he said that Iran, like the United States, has the right to use advanced nuclear technology. “We therefore reject the US demands for any restrictions on our nuclear programme,” he said.
Iran has been stating for years that its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes, while the US – along with European states – accuses the leadership in Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons.
Trump is demanding that Iran completely renounce domestic uranium enrichment. Additionally, he insists that Iran must hand over its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium to other countries.
Trump: Massive “armada” on its way to Iran
Trump has said that “another” US military fleet is on its way to Iran.
“It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela,” Trump wrote in the same Truth Social post. “Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.”
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and the accompanying warships that had already arrived in the Middle East on Monday, or to other US military forces.
“Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL!” Trump threatened, referring to the attacks by Israel and the US on Iranian nuclear facilities last June.
“The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again.”
Iranian foreign minister: Achieving goals with force is not diplomacy
In response to Trump’s comments, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that diplomacy combined with military threats was “neither effective nor useful.”
According to the state news agency IRNA, Araghchi said the United States would have to abandon threats and “illogical demands” if it wanted to engage in negotiations.
“It is unacceptable and cannot be called diplomacy if one side seeks to achieve its goals by force,” he added.
Before this new escalation, Trump had told the US news portal Axios that Iran was interested in a diplomatic solution to the tensions with the US. The situation with Iran is “in flux” because the US has sent a large fleet to the region, Trump told Axios.
Meanwhile, the responsible regional command of the US military, CENTCOM, announced a multi-day air force exercise in the Middle East.
Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Iran due to the killing of thousands of demonstrators during recent mass protests. Earlier this month, the US captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife in an attack, and extracted them from the country.
GNA