Updated on: Feb 20, 2026 8:55:04 AM IST
US-Iran tensions LIVE: The fuming tensions follow the second round of talks between the two countries, mediated by Oman, in Geneva.
US-Iran tensions LIVE: United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said that Iran would attract ‘bad things’ if it fails to make a ‘meaningful deal’ with Washington. Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, Trump made it clear that negotiations between the two countries must happen in the next 10 days or his country would ‘have to take it a step further,’ and that a peace in the Middle East is not possible until Iran possesses nuclear weapons.
The fuming tensions follow the second round of talks, mediated by Oman, in Geneva. While the US is seeking to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, which Iran claims it’s not pursuing, Iran is seeking relief from US sanctions, HT earlier reported.
Trump met with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Wednesday for an update on the negotiations with Iran. Officials met in the Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss possible action and were told to expect that all US military forces deployed to the region would be in place by mid-March, according to a US official.
The warning from the White House comes even as the US has moved its advanced F-35 and F-22 jet fighters toward the Middle East, according to The Wall Street Journal report. Amid heightened military threats, US stationed its aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln near Iranian waters in January.
As protests broke out in Tehran last December, United States had threatened a military intervention in the Islamic Republic following the country’s deadly breakdown on its anti-regime protesters.
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The fuming tensions follow the second round of talks, mediated by Oman, in Geneva. While the US is seeking to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, which Iran claims it’s not pursuing, Iran is seeking relief from US sanctions, HT earlier reported.
Trump met with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Wednesday for an update on the negotiations with Iran. Officials met in the Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss possible action and were told to expect that all US military forces deployed to the region would be in place by mid-March, according to a US official.
The warning from the White House comes even as the US has moved its advanced F-35 and F-22 jet fighters toward the Middle East, according to The Wall Street Journal report. Amid heightened military threats, US stationed its aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln near Iranian waters in January.
As protests broke out in Tehran last December, United States had threatened a military intervention in the Islamic Republic following the country’s deadly breakdown on its anti-regime protesters.
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Feb 20, 2026 8:55:04 AM IST
Iran-US tensions live updates: Iran warns US bases will be ‘legitimate targets’ if attacked
Iran-US tensions live updates: Iran on Thursday warned that US bases, facilities and assets would be “legitimate targets” if the United States carries out its military threats and launches an attack.
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, made the statement in a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the president of the Security Council, AFP reported.
Trump has sent warships, fighter jets and other military equipment to the Middle East as he tries to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, something Tehran says it is not seeking.
“Such a belligerent statement by the President of the United States…signals a real risk of military aggression, the consequences of which would be catastrophic for the region and would constitute a grave threat to international peace and security,” Iravani wrote in the letter.
Feb 20, 2026 8:37:26 AM IST
Iran-US tensions live updates: Trump says Iran would attract ‘bad things’
Iran-US tensions live updates: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the Islamic Republic would attract bad things if it fails to strike a deal with Washington in the next 10 days.
“It’s proven to be over the years not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran. We have to make a meaningful deal otherwise bad things happen,” Trump said as he addressed the audience at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, HT earlier reported.