{"id":271170,"date":"2026-02-03T02:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T02:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/271170\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T02:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T02:43:10","slug":"as-us-and-iran-set-for-talks-trump-warns-bad-things-will-happen-if-no-deal-reached","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/271170\/","title":{"rendered":"As US and Iran set for talks, Trump warns ‘bad things’ will happen if no deal reached"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and US officials told Reuters on Monday, and US President Donald Trump warned that with US warships heading to Iran, \u201cbad things\u201d would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.<\/p>\n

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Iran\u2019s nuclear program and dispel fears of a new regional war, while a regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would also participate.<\/p>\n

Trump reiterated Monday that a large fleet of US military vessels was sailing toward Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones \u2014 the biggest and the best \u2014 and we have talks going on with Iran and we\u2019ll see how it all works out,\u201d Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. \u201cIf we can work something out, that would be great and if we can\u2019t, probably bad things would happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see a deal negotiated. I don\u2019t know that that\u2019s going to happen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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Tehran considers its position<\/p>\n

Tensions are running high amid a US naval buildup near Iran, following a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution.<\/p>\n

Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was \u201cseriously talking,\u201d while Tehran\u2019s top security official Ali Larijani said arrangements for negotiations were under way.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tAli Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, delivers a statement after meeting with Lebanon\u2019s parliament speaker in Beirut on November 15, 2024. (AFP)<\/p>\n

Iranian sources told Reuters last week that Trump had demanded three conditions for resumption of talks: zero enrichment of uranium in Iran, limits on Tehran\u2019s ballistic missile program and ending its support for regional proxies.<\/p>\n

Iran has long rejected all three demands as unacceptable infringements of its sovereignty, but two Iranian officials told Reuters its clerical rulers saw the ballistic missile program, rather than uranium enrichment, as the bigger obstacle.<\/p>\n

The New York Times cited<\/a> two regional officials as saying Iran was indicating a readiness to halt or suspend its nuclear program.<\/p>\n

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was considering \u201cthe various dimensions and aspects of the talks,\u201d adding that \u201ctime is of the essence for Iran as it wants the lifting of unjust sanctions sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turkey and other regional allies have sought de-escalation.<\/p>\n

\u201cQatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt, as well as some other countries, will attend the Istanbul meeting. There will be bilateral, trilateral and other meetings,\u201d the regional diplomat said.<\/p>\n

A Turkish ruling-party official told Reuters that Tehran and Washington had agreed to re-focus on diplomacy and possible talks this week, in a potential reprieve for potential US strikes.<\/p>\n

Witkoff was expected to visit Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel\u2019s military chief, two senior Israeli officials said separately on Monday.<\/p>\n

Channel 12 reported that in officials\u2019 meetings with Witkoff, they will underline the importance of sticking to Trump\u2019s three demands. It said Mossad chief David Barnea will also take part in the meetings.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS special envoy Steve Witkoff listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House, January 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/p>\n

It said Trump\u2019s son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner will join Witkoff in Istanbul for the talks with Iran.<\/p>\n

Regime fears for its future<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s leadership is increasingly worried a US strike could break its grip on power by driving an already enraged public back onto the streets, following a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, six current and former officials told Reuters.<\/p>\n

In high-level meetings, officials told Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that public anger over last month\u2019s crackdown \u2014 the bloodiest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution \u2014 has reached a point where fear is no longer a deterrent, four current officials briefed on the discussions said.<\/p>\n

The officials said Khamenei was told that many Iranians were prepared to confront security forces again and that external pressure, such as a limited US strike, could embolden them and inflict irreparable damage to the political establishment.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIn this handout photo released by the US Navy on January 31, 2026, an F\/A-18E Super Hornet attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151 launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as it conducts routine flight operations in the Arabian Sea on January 28, 2026 (Zoe SIMPSON \/ US NAVY \/ AFP<\/p>\n

One of the officials told Reuters that Iran\u2019s enemies are seeking more protests so as to bring the Islamic Republic to an end, and \u201cunfortunately\u201d there would be more violence if an uprising took place.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn attack combined with demonstrations by angry people could lead to a collapse [of the ruling system]. That is the main concern among the top officials and that is what our enemies want,\u201d said the official, who like the other officials contacted for this story declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.<\/p>\n

The reported remarks are significant because they suggest private misgivings inside the leadership at odds with Tehran\u2019s defiant public stance toward the protesters and the US.<\/p>\n

The sources declined to say how Khamenei responded. Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on this account of the meetings.<\/p>\n

Multiple sources told Reuters last week that Trump is weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces and leaders to inspire protesters, even as Israeli and Arab officials said air power alone would not topple the clerical rulers.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are extremely angry,\u201d a former senior moderate official says, adding that a US attack could lead Iranians to rise up again. \u201cThe wall of fear has collapsed. There is no fear left.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, an Iranian official told Reuters that \u201cdiplomacy is ongoing. For talks to resume, Iran says there should not be preconditions and that it is ready to show flexibility on uranium enrichment, including handing over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium, accepting zero enrichment under a consortium arrangement as a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he added, for the start of talks, Tehran wanted US military assets moved away from Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the ball is in Trump\u2019s court,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tBanners in the colors of the Iranian flag adorn a roundabout as a man walks past in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 31, 2026, ahead of the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (Atta Kenare\/AFP)<\/p>\n

IDF prepares<\/p>\n

Amid the ongoing tensions with Iran, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Monday that the military was in a \u201cperiod of improving readiness for war.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must continue to draw lessons from the events of October 7 [2023], strengthen the defensive posture, and be prepared for a sequence of offensive actions across all theaters of war,\u201d Zamir said during a conference with senior officers, according to remarks provided by the IDF.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IDF is preparing for a number of possibilities, and we must remain alert and constantly ready for decisive [victory] in a multi-front war,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Following the Iranian authorities\u2019 deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, Trump threatened<\/a> military action and ordered the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Tehran, in response, has warned that if Trump orders strikes, Iran will target Israel and American military assets in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu addressed these threats in a speech to the Knesset on Monday, saying Israel was \u201cready for every scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever attacks us will face unbearable consequences,\u201d the premier warned.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA new F-35 fighter jet at the Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel, on January 18, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n

During a June 2025 war, Israel targeted Iran\u2019s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. It has debilitated several of the terror groups funded by Tehran that seek Israel\u2019s destruction. Israel said its sweeping assault on Iran\u2019s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.<\/p>\n

Iran has denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and US officials told…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-271170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}