Iran Pushes Back Against Trump Ahead of Geneva Talks

Iran pushed back Wednesday against US President Donald Trump's pressure tactics ahead of critical talks in Geneva over Tehran's nuclear program, alternating between calling his remarks “big lies” to saying negotiations may yield an agreement through “honourable diplomacy.”

- Associated Press

The remarks by two Iranian officials ahead of Thursday's talks come as America has assembled its biggest deployment of aircraft and warships to the Middle East in decades, part of Trump's efforts to get a deal while Iran struggles at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests last month.

If the negotiations fail, Trump repeatedly has threatened to attack Iran — something Mideast nations fear could spiral into a new regional war as the embers of the yearslong Israel-Hamas war still smolder.

Already, Iran has said all US military bases in the Mideast would be considered legitimate targets, putting at risk the tens of thousands of American service members in the region.

Satellite photos shot Tuesday by Planet Labs PBC and analysed by The Associated Press appeared to show American vessels typically docked in Bahrain, the home of the US Navy's 5th Fleet, all out at sea.

The 5th Fleet referred questions to the US military's Central Command, which did not immediately respond. Before Iran's attack on Qatar in June, the 5th Fleet similarly scattered its ships at sea to protect against a potential attack.

Iran responds to Trump's State of the Union speech

Trump on Tuesday night in the US touched on Iran and the nuclear negotiations in his annual State of the Union speech.