President Donald Trump said he plans to speak with Iran even as the United States dispatches another warship to the Middle East, signaling a dual track of pressure and potential diplomacy amid a volatile regional standoff.
“I am planning on it, yeah,” Trump told reporters when asked about possible discussions with Tehran. “We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them.” He did not elaborate on timing, scope or who might lead any U.S. outreach.
- Advertisement -
The remarks come as Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military “will be prepared to deliver whatever this president expects,” warning Iran “should not pursue nuclear capabilities.” Hegseth made the comment during a Cabinet meeting after Trump invited him to weigh in on the situation. He referred to the Defense Department as the “War Department,” a term the administration has used unofficially.
U.S.-Iran tensions have surged in recent weeks following a sweeping crackdown on protests across Iran by clerical authorities. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if Tehran continued to kill protesters, though the countrywide demonstrations—triggered by economic privations and political repression—have since ebbed.
Trump has also warned the United States would act if Iran resumed its nuclear program after Israeli and U.S. airstrikes in June on key nuclear installations. Washington has not detailed what actions it might take beyond the latest force movements into the region.
As Washington tightens its posture, Turkey said it will offer to mediate between the United States and Iran when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visits Ankara, according to Turkish officials. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will tell Araghchi that Turkey “is ready to contribute to resolving the current tensions through dialogue,” a diplomatic source said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
Fidan told Al-Jazeera that he suggested the United States tackle disputes with Iran “one-by-one,” beginning with the nuclear file rather than attempting to resolve all issues at once. That sequencing mirrors Tehran’s publicly stated approach, said Serhan Afacan, director of the Ankara-based Centre for Iranian Studies.
“If Trump invites the Iranians to reach a deal on the nuclear file, they are going to say yes. But if you put all of the issues in the same basket, that will be impossible,” Afacan said, adding that Iran’s ballistic missile program remains a “red line” because it underpins the country’s defense strategy. A compromise would require lengthy negotiations and credible assurances addressing Tehran’s security concerns, particularly regarding the United States and Israel, he said.
Alongside diplomacy, Turkey is weighing additional security measures along its 500-kilometer border with Iran if a U.S. strike destabilizes its neighbor, a senior Turkish official said. Much of the frontier is lined by a wall Turkey began building in 2021 to deter irregular migration after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, but “it has proven insufficient,” the official said.
Options include deploying more troops and expanding technological surveillance, the official added. While Turkey’s Defense Ministry says it has seen no sign of large-scale movements toward the border, authorities have erected 380 kilometers of concrete wall and dug 553 kilometers of trenches, with nearly 250 surveillance towers and drones providing around-the-clock reconnaissance, according to official figures.
In Europe, foreign ministers agreed to place Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations, aligning the IRGC with groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaida and signaling a tougher line toward Tehran. Araghchi criticized the designation, writing on X that Europe is “making another major strategic mistake” and that “the EU’s current posture is deeply damaging to its own interests.”
Whether Trump’s stated openness to talks can thread the needle between escalating military pressure, Turkish mediation efforts and Europe’s harder stance remains uncertain. As Afacan put it, the prospect of negotiations could hinge on a clear U.S. assurance: if the president signals he will not attack Iran, “we should expect to see negotiations in a matter of weeks.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
