White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said it would be “prudent” for Iran to enter into a deal as the US further surges military assets to the Middle East.
Her statement came a day after U.S. and Iranian representatives held their second round of indirect talks this month, as part of a series of veiled threats by officials from President Donald Trump’s administration.
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Both sides appear to have different explanations for the meeting. Iranian officials said the two countries had agreed on “guiding principles,” but U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said Iran had not yet met all of Washington’s “red lines.”
At a press conference Wednesday, Levitt made clear the Trump administration’s position that Iran must comply with U.S. demands.
“Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and his administration,” he told reporters.
President Trump, who has repeatedly threatened military action against Iran over last month’s crackdown on protests, also addressed the possibility of escalation in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.
The post warned British Prime Minister Keir Starmer against a deal agreed last year in which London would transfer control of the Chagos Islands, strategically located in the heart of the Indian Ocean.
Nevertheless, the deal allows the UK and US to continue to lease and operate a joint air base on the largest island, Diego Garcia.
“If Iran decides not to reach a deal, the United States may need to use its airfields in Diego Garcia and Fairford to root out potential attacks by a highly unstable and dangerous regime,” Trump wrote.
“An attack that could be carried out not only against the United Kingdom but also against other friendly countries.”
Meanwhile, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned on the sidelines of the International Energy Agency (IAE) conference in Paris, France, that the US government would “in some way” prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“They were very clear about what they were going to do with their nuclear weapons. It’s completely unacceptable,” Wright said.
increasing military power
The threats come as the United States appears to be rapidly adding more military assets to the Middle East, raising concerns of escalation.
As of Wednesday, the Pentagon had one aircraft carrier, the Abraham Lincoln, nine destroyers and three littoral combat ships in the region, and an anonymous US official told AFP news agency that more aircraft carriers were on the way.
That includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, sailing out of the Atlantic Ocean.
The U.S. also has a large fleet of aircraft in the Middle East, according to open source intelligence accounts from X and flight tracking website Flightradar24.
According to trackers, the deployment appears to include F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, and KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft needed to sustain operations.
The United States had previously rushed aircraft and ships to the region ahead of attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities in June last year, which ended a 12-day war between Israel and Iran.
Iran “doesn’t want war”
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that his country “does not want war” but will not bow to US demands.
“From the day I took office, I have believed that war should stop. But if they try to impose their will on us, humiliate us and demand that we bow at all costs, should we accept it?” he asked.
Pezeshkian spoke shortly after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday in a show of military power.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has previously warned that new attacks by the United States would lead to a broader regional escalation.
Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the country’s top diplomat, Abbas Aragushi, spoke by phone with Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
According to the statement, Grossi emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran is “focused on drafting an initial and consistent framework for future discussions” regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
During his first term in 2018, President Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which reduced Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Since then, Trump has imposed a “maximum pressure” campaign that includes new sanctions.
Efforts to reach a new nuclear deal have stalled repeatedly since President Trump’s first term.
Iran’s government has called for the talks to focus solely on its nuclear program, which it insists will be used only for civilian purposes. He also expressed a willingness to make concessions in exchange for sanctions being lifted.
Washington has pushed for a range of demands deemed non-starters for Iran, including limits on its ballistic missile program, but the demands at the latest talks were not immediately clear.
