US President Donald Trump vowed to use force if Tehran ignored his demands and announced an “armada” heading toward Iran.
AN IRANIAN FLAG is pictured near in a missile during a military drill, with the participation of Iran’s air defense units in October. (West Asia News Agency/Reuters)(photo credit: WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS)BySHIR PERETS Iran has indicated it is willing to shut down or suspend its nuclear program to calm a spiraling crisis with the United States, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The reported offer, part of back-channel exchanges in recent weeks, is aimed at averting a war after Washington threatened to use force if Tehran defied its demands.
The discussions have been relayed by regional intermediaries, the NYT added.
The NYT also reported that National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani recently met Vladimir Putin, conveying that Iran might again ship enriched uranium to Russia as under the 2015 deal.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted the topic “has long been on the agenda,” while Iran insists its program is for energy, not weapons.
Trump sends armada to region as MidEast decries war
US President Donald Trump vowed to use force if Tehran ignored his demands and announced an “armada” heading toward Iran.
“We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones … and we have talks going on with Iran. We’ll see how it works out,” he told reporters on Monday.
Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, urged Tehran to reach a nuclear deal with Washington, saying the Middle East does not need another confrontation between the US and Iran at a panel in the World Governments Summit in Dubai.
“I think that the region has gone through various calamitous confrontations. I don’t think we need another one, but I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings that we don’t have these issues every other day,” he said.
Iranian officials have publicly said they remain open to talks. “We have never lost the opportunity to get the rights of the Iranian people through diplomacy,” Araghchi told his staff in a video shared on social media on Monday.
Lara Sukster Mosheyof, James Genn, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, declared in an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen TV on Monday that “Iran is ready for any war.”
Shamkhani warned that any American strike on Iran would draw Israel into the conflict. “Israel and America are not two different elements. They are one entity. Our response to Israel is inevitable and is tied to their actions and steps,” he said.
The senior adviser addressed the expected talks with Washington and said Tehran is prepared for “practical negotiations with Washington and no one else, as Europe has proven its inability to do anything.” He further said the discussions will focus solely on the nuclear issue.
He stressed that Iran will not transfer its uranium enriched to 60 percent outside the country. “There is no reason to transfer the stored materials outside Iran. There is no need for all these complicated procedures. Our program is peaceful, our capabilities are domestic, and the 60% enrichment level can be reduced to 20%, but they must pay a cost,” he said.
Shamkhani added that Iran’s position in previous rounds of talks has not changed. “In the previous rounds [of talks], we had three no’s: we do not seek a nuclear weapon, we will not go to produce it, and we will not store it, and they must offer a price for that,” he said.
His comments follow reports that US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet on Friday in Istanbul to discuss a possible nuclear agreement.
US President Donald Trump has called for Iran to reach a deal with the US on its nuclear program, while leaving the military option on the table.
On Sunday, Trump responded to threats from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned the United States earlier that if “they start a war, this time it will be a regional war.”
“We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there… hopefully, we’ll make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right,” Trump said in a conversation with reporters.
Trump said on Saturday night that Iran is “seriously talking” with the US, adding that he hopes Iran accepts a deal which sees it giving up its nuclear weapons.
Trump envoy reportedly to meet with Iranian FM in Istanbul after country’s president orders start of negotiations; Kremlin offers to process or store
2 February 2026, 4:13 pm
Updated at 6:39 pm
(L-R) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on December 22, 2025 (ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP), Steve Witkoff at the White House, January 29, 2026 (AP Photo/Evan Vucci), and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on December 29, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, according to two senior Israeli officials.
The discussions will likely concern Iran, after Zamir was in Washington DC over the weekend for a series of discussions with American defense officials regarding the Islamic Republic.
Following his visit to Israel, Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi plan to meet on Friday in Istanbul to discuss a possible nuclear deal and other issues, a US official said on Monday.
“The president’s been calling for them to make a deal. The meeting is to hear what they have to say,” the official said.
Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt have been working to arrange the meeting, Axios reported earlier, citing two sources.
Meanwhile, Iranian media said on Monday that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered the start of nuclear talks with the US after President Donald Trump said he was hopeful for a deal to avert military action against the Islamic Republic.
Following the Iranian authorities’ deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, Trump threatened military action and ordered the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East.
Tehran, in response, has warned that if Trump orders strikes, Iran will target Israel and American military assets in the Middle East.
Netanyahu addressed these threats in a speech to the Knesset Monday, saying Israel was “ready for every scenario.”
“Whoever attacks us will face unbearable consequences,” the premier warned.
While piling pressure on Iran, Trump has maintained that he is hopeful of making a deal. Tehran has also insisted it wants diplomacy, even while vowing an unbridled response to any aggression.
“President Pezeshkian has ordered the opening of talks with the United States,” the news agency Fars reported, citing an unnamed government source.
In this handout picture provided by Iranian presidency, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian addresses cabinet members, as they visit of the tomb of the late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran on January 31, 2026 (Handout/Iranian Presidency/AFP)
“Iran and the United States will hold talks on the nuclear file,” Fars said, without specifying a date.
The report was also carried by the government newspaper Iran and the reformist daily Shargh.
Without giving details on the content of any prospective negotiation, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, “Countries of the region are acting as mediators in the exchange of messages.
“Several points have been addressed and we are examining and finalizing the details of each stage in the diplomatic process, which we hope to conclude in the coming days,” he added. “This concerns the method and framework.”
Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Araghchi said he believes his country can reach an agreement with the US.
Others in the region are also keen to avoid the tensions with Iran boiling over, and Jordan’s top diplomat communicated as much in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart on Monday.
“Jordan will not be a battleground in any regional conflict or a launching pad for any military action against Iran,” Ayman Safadi told Araghchi, according to a Jordanian foreign ministry statement.
Safadi added that Amman, a US ally, “will not permit any party to violate its airspace or threaten its security and the safety of its citizens,” and stressed Jordan’s support for de-escalation and restoring calm.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that Russia is still trying to de-escalate tensions around Iran, noting that it had long ago offered its services to process or store Iran’s enriched uranium.
Asked if Russia was discussing with Iran and the US the possibility of taking Iranian enriched uranium, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This topic has been on the agenda for a long time.”
“Russia has been offering its services for quite a long time as a possible option that would lead to the removal of certain irritants for a number of countries,” Peskov said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shake hands during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“Right now, Russia is continuing its efforts, continuing its contacts with all interested parties, and maintains its readiness to de-escalate tensions around Iran to the best of its ability,” he said.
Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs during last year’s war, and has debilitated several of the terror groups funded by Tehran that seek Israel’s destruction. Trump has also warned Iran not to expand its ballistic missile stockpile.
Israel said its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.
Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.
Iran retaliated to Israel’s strikes by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel. The attacks killed 32 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.
