Tug-of-war continues ahead of US-Iran talks United States and Iran are headed for another round of talks this week, as Washington continues to apply military pressure. Tehran has warned that it will respond “ferociously” to any act of aggression.
The White House says the third round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program and other issues will be held on Thursday in Geneva. The talks resumed earlier this month after a pause of about eight months.
US President Donald Trump has ordered a massive buildup of forces in the Middle East to ramp up pressure on Tehran. Reuters news agency has reported that a second aircraft carrier headed for the region arrived at the Greek island of Crete in the Mediterranean on Monday.
A US State Department official told NHK that it has ordered the departure of non-emergency US government personnel and eligible family members from the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Militants aligned with Iran are based in that country.
Trump has hinted at the possibility of the US military conducting limited strikes against Iran. A spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday that there is no such thing as a limited strike. Esmail Baghaei added that such an action would be deemed an act of aggression.
Baghaei said: “Any state would react to an act of aggression as part of its inherent right of self-defense, ferociously. So that’s what we would do.”
The US news website Axios has quoted US officials as saying that the current diplomatic push is likely the last chance President Trump will give Iran before launching a massive US-Israeli military operation.
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