Threats turn to talks

Iran's foreign minister seeks negotiations as Trump warns 'bad things would happen' if no solution is agreed

- By Ashifa Kassam and Andrew Roth

A desperate effort to avert war between the US and Iran is again under way. On Tuesday, Iran's president said he had instructed his foreign minister to "pursue fair and equitable negotiations" with the US, as the two countries reportedly prepared to send top envoys to Istanbul for high-stakes talks on the Iranian nuclear programme.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X: "I have instructed my minister of foreign affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists - one free from threats and unreasonable expectations - to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency."

But trying to locate common ground between the two countries over Tehran's nuclear programme has been made more difficult by escalating US demands, and by Iran's ideological, nationalist attachment to the right to enrich uranium.

As US warships and aircraft have amassed in the region for a potential strike on Iran, the country's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, suggested talks could take place imminently.

Donald Trump last weekend said Iranians were "seriously talking to us" as he hinted at a deal to avert military action. He hinted at a deal that would avoid the use of military strikes, as Ayatollah Ali Khameni, Iran's supreme leader, warned that any US attack would spark a regional war.

Asked on Monday about the prospect of a deal, Trump told reporters at the White House that talks were happening. "We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones - the biggest and the best - and we have talks going on with Iran and we'll see how it all works out ... if we can work something out, that would be great and if we can't, probably bad things would happen."