US President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that Iran has 10 days to reach a “meaningful deal” with Washington or face consequences, as the United States deploys warships, fighter jets and other military hardware to the region.

“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 told the inaugural meeting of the “Board of Peace”, his initiative to secure stability in Gaza.

He warned that Washington “may have to take it a step further” without any agreement, adding: “You’re going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days.”

Trump’s comments came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued his own warning to Iran saying: “If the ayatollahs make a mistake and attack us, they will receive a response they cannot even imagine.”

The warnings were issued days after the US and Iran held a second round of Omani-mediated talks in Geneva, with the US seeking to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, something Tehran says it is not pursuing, and Iran seeking relief from US sanctions.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned on Wednesday there were “many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran”.

“Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump,” she said.

Trump has repeatedly threatened military action against Iran, at first over a deadly crackdown on protesters last month, then more recently over its nuclear programme.

Iran’s atomic energy chief on Thursday said “no country can deprive Iran of the right” to nuclear enrichment, following fresh US warnings.

A previous attempt at negotiations collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran last June, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites.

‘Do not want war’

CNN and CBS reported on Wednesday that the US military would be ready to launch strikes against Iran as early as this weekend, though Trump has reportedly not made a final decision.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had been briefed on military options “all of them designed to maximise damage”, including a campaign to “kill scores of Iranian political and military leaders, with the goal of overthrowing the government”, unnamed US officials told the newspaper.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after the latest talks that Tehran had agreed with Washington on “guiding principles”, but US Vice President JD Vance said Iran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington’s red lines.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted on Wednesday “we do not want war” but suggested Tehran could not give in to US demands.

Poland on Thursday ordered all its citizens in Iran to “leave immediately”.

Germany moved troops out of northern Iraq, reducing its footprint to the minimum necessary to keep its base functional, citing regional tensions.

Russia called for restraint, with a Kremlin spokesperson saying: “We are currently witnessing an unprecedented escalation of tension in the region, but we still hope that political and diplomatic means and negotiations will continue to prevail in the search for a settlement.”

Military buildup

Iran has insisted that talks with the US be limited to the nuclear issue, though Washington has previously pushed for Tehran’s ballistic missiles programme and support for armed groups in the region to be on the table.

The US has been building up its military forces near Iran, including warships, fighter jets and refuelling aircraft, laying the foundation for a potentially sustained campaign should Trump give the order.

Washington has ordered a second aircraft carrier to the region, with the first, the USS Abraham Lincoln and its nearly 80 aircraft, positioned about 700 kilometres from the Iranian coast as of Sunday, satellite images showed.

Iran has sought to display its own military might, with its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps holding war games earlier this week in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the strait, a major global conduit for oil and gas.

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