Washington and Tehran continued to trade threats Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said he could launch a fresh assault on Iran if a deal wasn't forthcoming in the next few days. The Islamic Republic in return warned it was prepared to open up "new fronts" in the event of a renewed US attack.
US President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that the United States may strike Iran again, a day after he claimed to have held off a major assault in hope of a deal to end the war – but Tehran's army threatened to open "new fronts" if he went ahead.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he had been just "an hour away" from relaunching Washington's attacks on Iran before postponing the order, after weeks of a fragile ceasefire and talks to end the war that the US and Israel launched on February 28.
"You know how it is to negotiate with a country where you're beating them badly. They come to the table, they're begging to make a deal," he said.
"I hope we don't have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit. I'm not sure yet."
Read moreMiddle East war live: Trump says US may hit Iran again, claims Tehran wants deal
But Iran's army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia earlier warned the Islamic Republic would "open new fronts against" the United States if it restarted its attacks.
He added that Iran's military had used the ceasefire as an opportunity "to strengthen its combat capabilities".
Trump offered a deadline of several days for resuming strikes if a deal was not agreed.
"I'm saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time," he said.
'Assault at a moment's notice'
Trump's new deadline came after he said on Monday that Gulf leaders had asked him to hold off on an attack at the 11th hour, which he did because "serious negotiations are taking place".
But if a deal was not agreed, he said he instructed the US military to be "prepared to go forward with a full, large-scale assault of Iran, on a moment's notice."
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on X that Trump's comments meant the US leader was "calling a 'threat' a 'chance for peace'!"
The US-Israeli bombing killed thousands of people in Iran before it was suspended in a ceasefire in early April. Israel has killed thousands more and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes in Lebanon, which it invaded in pursuit of Hezbollah after the Iran-backed group launched rockets across the border.
Iranian strikes on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states have killed dozens of people.
Trump had already indefinitely extended the truce and made clear he wants to exit a war that has proven to be a political liability.
The US president is under intense political pressure at home to reach an accord that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a key route for global supplies of oil and other commodities that Iran has effectively closed off.
Fuel prices remain high and Trump's approval rating has plummeted as congressional elections loom in November.
Drone attack
Since the ceasefire took hold on April 8, Tehran and Washington have held a single round of talks, which failed to culminate in a deal.
Iran has repeatedly rebuffed Trump's offers on a deal and its control over the vital Hormuz strait has sent global oil prices spiraling.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed exchanges with the United States through mediator Pakistan and said Tehran made clear its "concerns".
The cleric-run state, which has remained resilient despite the US and Israeli killing 86-year-old supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening air strikes of the war, is demanding the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and the lifting of long-standing sanctions.
After the Iranian threat of attacks on new fronts, the United Arab Emirates said a drone attack on its Barakah nuclear power plant last week originated from Iraqi territory, where Iran backs groups accused of launching attacks on Gulf nations in the war.
"As part of the ongoing investigation into the blatant attack on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant on May 17, 2026, technical tracking and monitoring confirmed that the three drones ... all originated from Iraqi territory," the Emirati defence ministry said.
A top Emirati official had already suggested Iran or one of its regional proxies was to blame.
Iran has been ramping up military pressure in the region.
The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, said Monday that they struck groups linked to the United States and Israel within the Iranian province of Kurdistan, near the border with Iraq, which it said were attempting to smuggle US weapons into Iran.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters that Doha, one of Iran's main targets in the war, believed "more time" was needed for the ongoing Pakistani-mediated efforts to push for Iran-US talks.
'Excessive' conditions
At the same time, Iran's foreign ministry said it has responded to the latest US proposal which Iranian media had described as "excessive" and offering "no tangible concessions".
On Sunday, Iran's Fars news agency said Washington had presented a five-point list, which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.
The US had refused to release "even 25 percent" of Iran's assets frozen abroad or pay any reparations for war damage, Fars added.
The report said the US had also made clear it would only cease hostilities when Tehran engages in formal peace negotiations.
Iran however has said it insists on its own demands, including the release of the frozen assets, the lifting of long-standing sanctions on the country and war reparations.
But later, the Tasnim news agency, citing an unnamed source close to the Iranian negotiating team, said the United States made one new step forward in the latest text by agreeing to waive oil sanctions while negotiations were underway.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
