TEHRAN: Iran’s top security official said on Saturday that progress had been made toward negotiations with the United States, striking a cautiously conciliatory tone even as the Islamic republic’s military leadership warned Washington against launching any military action.
The comments come amid escalating tensions following the deployment of a US naval battle group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, to waters off Iran’s shores.
The move followed threats by former US president Donald Trump to intervene after a strong crackdown on anti-government protests inside Iran, according to AFP.
The arrival of the flotilla has fuelled fears of a direct military confrontation. Iranian officials have repeatedly warned that any attack would be met with retaliatory missile strikes targeting US bases, naval assets, and regional allies, notably Israel.
Despite the heightened rhetoric, Trump has said he believes Tehran would ultimately prefer to reach an agreement on its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face American military action.
Iranian authorities, for their part, have indicated a willingness to engage in talks over the nuclear issue, provided that Iran’s missile programme and broader defence capabilities are excluded from negotiations.
“Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing,” said Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
His remarks came a day after the Kremlin confirmed that Larijani had held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, underscoring Russia’s ongoing diplomatic engagement in the standoff.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian army chief Amir Hatami issued a stern warning to the United States and Israel, saying Iran’s armed forces were at “full defensive and military readiness” to respond to any hostile action.
“If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime,” Hatami said, according to the official IRNA news agency.
He added that Iran’s nuclear technology and scientific expertise “cannot be eliminated,” reinforcing Tehran’s long-held position on the resilience of its nuclear programme.
As tensions remained high, Iranian authorities moved quickly to dismiss reports suggesting that several incidents across the country were linked to attacks or acts of sabotage.
These included an explosion in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, which local firefighters said was caused by a gas leak rather than any hostile action.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also denied that any of its naval facilities had been targeted, according to a statement carried by the Fars news agency. Separately, the Tasnim news agency rejected what it described as “assassination rumours” concerning Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Guards’ naval forces.
