Trump said Iran has started talks with the US
1 February 16:01
US President Donald Trump said that Iran is engaged in “serious” negotiations with Washington, hinting at the possibility of an agreement that would avoid military strikes on the republic.
“Iran is negotiating with us, and we’ll see if we can do something… We have a large fleet headed there. They are negotiating,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
He added that US allies have not been informed of plans for possible strikes for security reasons.
“If I told them about the plans, it would be almost as bad as telling you about them. In fact, it could be even worse,” the head of state explained. Trump stressed that Iran must conclude a “satisfactory” agreement that will prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons.
Against this backdrop, a naval strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was sent to the shores of Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi said in an interview with CNN Turk that negotiations with Washington are possible if the US commits to no longer attacking Iran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that a US strike would trigger a regional war. “
The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,” Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying. Khamenei’s adviser Ali Shamkhani said Iran’s armed forces were ready to act “on a broader front.”
At the same time, satellite images from Planet Labs PBC, published by The Telegraph, show that work has resumed at damaged Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz and Isfahan. Experts interviewed by the publication believe that this may be an attempt to restore key facilities after strikes by the US and Israel.
At the same time, in response to the EU’s decision to recognize the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, Iran itself declared the armed forces of the European Union countries to be “terrorist groups.” According to parliamentary spokesman Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, this move was a response to Europe’s actions, which, in his words, are “in the interests of its master, America.”
