Iran Conducts Crucial Joint Military Drills with Russia as Trump Sets 10–15 Day Deadline for Nuclear Deal
Iran held annual military drills with Russia this week in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean as a second U.S. aircraft carrier moved closer to the Middle East, with both Washington and Tehran signaling readiness for conflict if long-stalled talks over Iran’s nuclear program collapse.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he believes “10 to 15 days” is “enough time” for Iran to reach a deal, while warning that failure to secure what he called a “meaningful deal” would bring consequences. “It’s proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran, and we have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise, bad things happen,” Trump said.
 |
| U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wing 8 aircraft fly in formation; Via: US Navy |
Tracking data showed the Ford off Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean midday Wednesday, positioning it to potentially transit Gibraltar and move into the eastern Mediterranean with guided-missile destroyers, a voyage that would likely take more than a week to place the carrier off Iran’s coast.
Meanwhile, in a letter to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said Iran does not seek “tension or war and will not initiate a war,” but warned that any U.S. aggression would be met “decisively and proportionately.”
He added that, in such circumstances, “all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile force in the region would constitute legitimate targets” as part of Iran’s defensive response.
The reports in verified international media outlets described the nuclear talks as deadlocked for years, with Iran refusing to broaden negotiations to include U.S. and Israeli demands that Tehran scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups.
It said indirect talks held in recent weeks made little visible progress and that one or both sides could be buying time for final war preparations.
It also said Iran’s leadership is more vulnerable than in the past following 12 days of Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and military last year, and mass protests in January that were violently suppressed.
An unnamed senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said Iran has agreed to draw up a written proposal to address U.S. concerns raised during this week’s indirect nuclear talks in Geneva.
The official said top national security officials gathered Wednesday to discuss Iran and were briefed that the “full forces” needed to carry out potential military action are expected to be in place by mid-March, without giving a timeline for when Iran would deliver its written response.
Iran has said the current talks should focus only on its nuclear program and, according to the account, has said it has not been enriching uranium since U.S. and Israeli strikes last summer. Trump said at the time that the strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites, but the report said the exact damage is unknown because Tehran has barred international inspectors.
Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, while the United States and others suspect it is aimed at eventually developing weapons; Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons but has neither confirmed nor denied that.
Inside Iran, tensions were also described as rising as mourners held ceremonies marking 40 days since protesters were killed by security forces, with some gatherings reportedly including anti-government chants despite official threats.
Iran earlier this week conducted a drill involving live fire in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entrance to the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes.
International concern was reflected in warnings and precautionary moves cited in the report. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged Polish citizens to immediately leave Iran, warning that “within a few, a dozen, or even a few dozen hours, the possibility of evacuation will be out of the question,” without elaborating.
The German military said it had moved “a mid-two digit number of non-mission critical personnel” out of a base in northern Iraq due to the current regional situation and in line with partners’ actions, while saying some troops remain to help keep the multinational camp running in Irbil, where they train Iraqi forces.
The report also cited the New York-based Soufan Center as saying that another 50 U.S. combat aircraft—F-35s, F-22s and F-16s—were ordered to the region this week to supplement hundreds already deployed to bases in Arab Gulf states, arguing the deployments reinforce Trump’s repeatedly stated threat to proceed with a major air and missile campaign if talks fail.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said Iranian forces and Russian sailors conducted the annual drills aimed at “upgrading operational coordination” and exchanging military experience. Footage released by Iran showed naval special forces from the Revolutionary Guard boarding a vessel during the exercise; those forces are believed, according to the account, to have been used previously to seize vessels in key international waterways. Iran also issued a rocket-fire warning to pilots in the region, suggesting it planned to launch anti-ship missiles during the exercise.
Israel, anticipating potential Iranian retaliation in the event of U.S. action, is making preparations for possible Iranian missile strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday, “We are prepared for any scenario,” adding that if Iran attacks Israel, “they will experience a response they cannot even imagine.”
Netanyahu, who met Trump last week, has long pressed for tougher U.S. action and has argued any agreement should not only end Iran’s nuclear program but also curb its missile arsenal and force it to cut ties with militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah—demands Iran has rejected as beyond the scope of the current talks.