On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped Washington and Iran could reach a deal within the next month, warning of “very traumatic” consequences if negotiations fail.
“We have to make a deal, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don’t want that to happen, but we have to make a deal,” Trump told reporters, The Caspian Post reported, citing foreign media.
Trump, who is weighing the deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to increase pressure on Tehran, referred to the U.S. military strikes he ordered on Iran’s nuclear facilities during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in July 2025.
“We’ll see if we can get a deal with them, and if we can’t, we’ll have to go to phase two. Phase two will be very tough for them,” he added.
The remarks come amid sustained U.S. pressure on Tehran, including an expanded American military presence in the region. The U.S. has deployed multiple naval assets, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, while the Pentagon has reportedly directed a second carrier strike group to prepare for possible deployment.
Indirect talks between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program were held in Oman on February 6. Although both sides later signaled openness to continued dialogue, concerns over a potential military confrontation persist.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said Iran had not sent any direct messages to Washington. He noted that Omani officials conveyed certain U.S. points to Tehran for review.
Larijani said both sides favor continued negotiations but stressed that internal consultations are needed to ensure talks can yield results.
‘General Skepticism’ in Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped Trump was creating the right conditions to secure an agreement with Iran that would avert military action.
After meeting Trump in Washington on Wednesday for more than two and a half hours, Netanyahu said he had expressed “general skepticism,” stressing that any deal “must include the elements that are vital to Israel.”
Those elements, he said, include a halt to Iran’s nuclear program, limits on its ballistic missile capabilities, and restrictions on its regional proxies.
“I think that the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they surely understand they made a mistake last time by not reaching an agreement, may create the circumstances for achieving a good deal,” Netanyahu said.
Trump described the meeting as “very good” but indicated no major decisions had been finalized.
“We share a very close, very genuine, and very candid connection,” Netanyahu said, noting that discussions focused largely on Iran and that Trump wanted to hear Israel’s position.
Israeli media reported that Israel is insisting any U.S.-Iran agreement must prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, require it to abandon uranium enrichment entirely, curb its ballistic missile program, and end support for regional groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi movement in Yemen — demands that would significantly reduce Iran’s regional influence.
