US President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next US attack would be far worse, but Tehran said that if that happened it would fight back as never before.
"Hopefully Iran will quickly 'Come to the Table' and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!" Trump wrote in a social media post.
The US president, who pulled out of world powers' 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran during his first White House term, noted that his last warning to Iran was followed by a military strike in June.
"The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again," Trump wrote. He also said another "armada" is floating toward Iran.
Iran's mission to the United Nations responded in kind.
"Last time the U.S. blundered into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it squandered over $7 trillion and lost more than 7,000 American lives," it said in an X post quoting Trump's statement.
"Iran stands ready for dialog based on mutual respect and interests—BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!"
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had not been in contact with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days or requesting negotiations, state media reported earlier on Wednesday.
Later on Wednesday evening, Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that any military action from the United States will see Iran targeting the US, Israel, and those who support it.
Trump announces second US military armada aimed for Iran
Trump announced that an additional "armada" of US military vessels is sailing towards Iran during a speech given in Iowa on Tuesday evening.
“In June, we obliterated Iran’s nuclear capacity in Operation Midnight Hammer,” Trump stated, addressing recent US military operations. "People had been waiting for 22 years to do that... They were about a month away from having a nuclear weapon. We had to do it."
"There's another beautiful armada floating beautifully towards Iran right now," Trump added, sharing that he hopes Iran will "make a deal" and “should have made a deal the first time.”
On Friday, Trump told reporters present on Air Force One that the US is watching Iran closely and has "a massive fleet heading in that direction."
US military preparing for possible Iran strikes
On Tuesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) released a statement announcing that it was preparing to conduct multi-day readiness exercises “designed to enhance asset and personnel dispersal capability, strengthen regional partnerships and prepare for flexible response execution throughout CENTCOM.”
The exercises are additionally aimed at demonstrating CENTCOM's "credible, combat-ready, and responsible presence designed to deter aggression, reduce the risk of miscalculation, and assure partners."
CENTCOM's announcement followed a Sunday meeting between CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir aimed at “strengthening the defensive cooperation between the two states."
On Monday, a US source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group had arrived in CENTCOM waters in the Indian Ocean.
According to a Reuters report on Thursday, the USS Abraham Lincoln group included other US warships, destroyers, and fighter aircraft.
James Genn, Jacob Laznik, Yonah Jeremy Bob, and Reuters contributed to this report.