Trump warns Iran that time is running out as ships enter region

Nick Wadhams and Eltaf Najafizada, Bloomberg News on Jan 28, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

President Donald Trump warned Iran to make a nuclear deal with the U.S. or face military strikes far worse than the attack he ordered last June, ratcheting up pressure on the regime even as regional leaders sought to spur fresh diplomacy between the adversaries.

In a social-media post, Trump said the fleet of U.S. ships he’d ordered to the region, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, was “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.”

“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,” Trump wrote.

In response, Iran said it stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests but warned that “IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE,” the country’s mission to the United Nations said in a post on X.

Trump has repeatedly warned Iran that the U.S. might launch another attack on the country, but those threats were linked to a deadly crackdown on protests that began in late December. Trump has previously said Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated” in the strikes last June that targeted three facilities across the country.

Iran has long said it does not want to develop nuclear weapons. Notably, in his latest post, Trump did not demand that Iran end nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program or its funding of anti-U.S. proxy militias, all conditions Iran has balked at previously.

At the same time, Trump said earlier this month that Iranian officials had reached out to resume negotiations with the U.S. that were suspended after the June attacks. And signs have emerged in recent months that Iran could restart the program if it wanted. The director of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said in an interview last week that the country retains its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.

Trump has gone back and forth in recent days over whether the U.S. would strike Iran again. He had previously suggested he was less likely to attack after claiming that Iran had agreed not to execute some of the people arrested during the demonstrations.

“We think strikes on Iran are likely, unless the Iranians accept Trump’s extensive demands to decommission their nuclear program — which doesn’t look likely,” Bloomberg Economics analysts Becca Wasser and Dina Esfandiary wrote.

Trump’s latest remarks sent oil to a fresh four-month high. Brent futures reached $68.19 a barrel after Trump’s post, the highest level since the end of September, extending a 3% jump in the previous session.

Iran has stepped up diplomacy with key powers in the Middle East as it looks to head off more conflict with the U.S. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held calls on Wednesday with Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, as well as Egypt’s top diplomat, Badr Abdelatty.

Abdelatty separately spoke to U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff about Iran and “creating conditions for the resumption of dialogue between Washington and Tehran,” the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported, citing an official statement.

The Qatari prime minister also spoke with Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Wednesday’s calls came a day after Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he won’t allow any of the kingdom’s territories or airspace to be used to carry out military strikes against Iran.

Witkoff and Araghchi led the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program until the talks were suspended in the wake of the strikes by Israel and the U.S.

Iran’s latest wave of protests erupted on Dec. 28, initially because of a sudden drop in the value of the currency, before evolving nationwide into the strongest rebuke of the Islamic Republic in its history. A subsequent crackdown has killed almost 6,000 civilians, according to the latest data collected by U.S.-based Human Rights Activists Network.