U.S., Iran talk while rattling sabers

Trump says Tehran has 10 to 15 days to make nuclear deal, or 'bad things happen.'

- BY JON GAMBRELL

VAHID SALEMI Associated Press

A WOMAN in Tehran prays this week at the graves of Iranian soldiers killed in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

Iran held annual military drills with Russia on Thursday as a second American aircraft carrier drew closer to the Middle East, with both the United States and Iran signaling they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran's nuclear program fizzle out.

President Trump said he believes 10 to 15 days is “enough time” for Iran to reach a deal. But the talks have been deadlocked for years, and Iran has refused to discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups. Indirect talks held in recent weeks made little visible progress, and one or both sides could be buying time for final war preparations.

Iran’s theocracy is more vulnerable than ever after 12 days of Israeli and U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites and military last year, as well as mass protests in January that were violently suppressed. But it is still capable of striking Israel and U.S. bases in the region and has warned that any attack would trigger a regional war.

Iran this week launched a drill that involved live fire in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow opening of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes.

Tensions are also rising inside Iran as mourners hold ceremonies honoring slain protesters 40 days after their killing by security forces. Some gatherings have seen antigovernment chants despite threats from authorities.

American forces moving into place

The movements of additional American warships and airplanes, with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carriernear the mouth ofthe Mediterranean Sea, don't guarantee a strike on Iran, but they bolster Trump's ability to carry out one should he choose to do so.