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Iran is pushing back against U.S. demands that it directly negotiate over its nuclear program or be bombed, warning neighboring countries that host U.S. bases that they could be in the line of fire if they get involved, a senior Iranian official said.
Although Iran has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for direct talks, it wants to continue indirect negotiations through Oman, a longtime channel for messages between the rival states, said the official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.
"Indirect talks offer a chance to evaluate Washington's seriousness about a political solution with Iran," said the official.
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Face off between US President Donald Trump and Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
(Photos: Iranian Leader's Press Office - Handout/Getty Images , AP, Shutterstock)
Although that path could be "rocky," such talks could begin soon if U.S. messaging supported it, the official said.
Iran has issued notices to Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey and Bahrain that any support for a U.S. attack on Iran, including the use of their air space or territory by U.S. military during an attack, would be considered an act of hostility, the official said.
Such an act "will have severe consequences for them", the official said, adding that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had placed Iran's armed forces on high alert.
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Warnings by Trump of military action against Iran have jangled already tense nerves across the region after open warfare in Gaza and Lebanon, military strikes on Yemen, a change of leadership in Syria and Israeli-Iranian exchanges of fire.
Worries of a wider regional conflagration have unsettled states around the Gulf, a body of water bordered on one side by Iran and on the other by U.S.-allied Arab monarchies that carries a significant proportion of global oil supplies.
Spokespeople for the governments of Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of a warning but that such messages could be conveyed by other channels.
On Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that Kuwait had reassured Iran that it would not accept any aggressive action being directed at other countries from its soil.
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US transferred THAAD air defense batteries to Israel
(Photo: AFP Photo / Handout / DVIDS / US Army / Staff Sergeant Cory D. Payne)
Amid the ongoing U.S. military operation in Yemen against the Houthis and in the shadow of President Donald Trump’s threats to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if it refuses to negotiate a new nuclear deal, the Saudi news channel Al-Hadath reported overnight that the United States has transferred an additional THAAD air defense battery to Israel. The report also stated that two Patriot missile batteries were delivered as well.
Prior to the report, American military tracking sites recorded a U.S. Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy cargo plane landing at Israel’s Nevatim Airbase in the Negev. The aircraft, which had departed from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, remained on the ground in Israel for several hours.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is a mobile, high-altitude missile defense system with capabilities similar to Israel’s Arrow system. It can intercept ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere using kinetic energy and is designed to target various stages of an incoming missile’s trajectory, as well as other aerial threats.
Meanwhile, in what appears to be a dramatic move backing Trump’s threats toward Iran, the U.S. also recently deployed six B-2 strategic bombers to Diego Garcia, a remote island in the Indian Ocean. These stealth bombers are capable of carrying both nuclear weapons and the 12-ton “bunker buster” bombs developed specifically to target underground Iranian nuclear facilities. In recent days, Trump has significantly escalated his rhetoric, warning that without a new nuclear agreement, Iran would face attacks "the likes of which it has never seen."
Iran's ally Russia said on Thursday that U.S. threats of military strikes against the Islamic Republic were unacceptable and on Friday called for restraint.
Iran is trying to gain more support from Russia, but is skeptical about Moscow's commitment to its ally, said a second Iranian official. This "depends on the dynamics" of the relationship between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the official said.
Two-month window over fears of Israeli attack
Trump has said he would prefer a deal over Iran's nuclear program to a military confrontation and he said on March 7 he had written to Khamenei to suggest talks.
The first Iranian official said a first round of indirect talks could involve Omani mediators shuttling between the Iranian and U.S. delegations. Khamenei has authorized Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi or his deputy, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, to attend any talks in Muscat.
Oman's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
However, the official believed there was a window of around two months to agree a deal, citing worries that Iran's long-time foe Israel might launch its own attack if talks took longer, and that it could trigger a so-called "snap back" of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Iran has long denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is "dramatically" accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has warned.
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A U.S. Army B-2 bomber on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia in a satellite image from April 2
(Photo: Handout / © 2025 PLANET LABS PBC / AFP)
Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium to such a high level under any civilian program and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs.
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While Iran has said it will consider talks with the U.S. if the aim was to address concerns over its program, it has rejected holding any direct negotiations when the U.S. is making threats and has said its missile program would be off limits.
A senior Iranian military commander, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Amirali Hajizadeh, had implied on Monday that U.S. bases in the region could be targeted in any conflict.
In 2020, Iran targeted U.S. bases in Iraq after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the head of the IRGC's Quds Force, in a U.S. missile strike in Baghdad.