Trump hints at second carrier in Middle East as Iran and US near talks

Washington/Dubai: U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, even as Washington and Tehran prepare to ​resume negotiations aimed at averting a new conflict.

Oman facilitated talks between Iran and the U.S. last week, which a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry said had allowed ‌Tehran to gauge Washington's seriousness and showed enough consensus for diplomacy to continue.

The talks came after Trump had positioned ⁠one aircraft carrier in the region, raising fears of new ‌military action. Trump, who joined an Israeli bombing campaign last year and hit Iranian nuclear sites, had threatened last month to intervene militarily during a bloody government crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran, but ultimately held off.

In interviews with Israeli media, Trump said the United States would have to do "something very tough" if a deal is not reached with Iran.

"Either we reach a deal or we'll have to do something very tough," Israel's Channel 12 quoted him as saying.

The date and venue of the next round of U.S.-Iran talks have ​yet to be announced.

Trump told Channel 12 and Axios that he was also considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East.

The USS George Washington in Asia and the USS George H.W. Bush on the U.S. east coast are the most likely candidates, officials have told Reuters, but each is at least a week away from the Middle East. The Pentagon could also deploy the Ford carrier from the Caribbean.

"After the ‌talks, we felt there ‌was understanding and consensus to continue the diplomatic process," said the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei.

Baghaei said Tuesday's trip to Oman by Ali Larijani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been pre-planned, and that Larijani would travel ⁠next to Qatar, which has also mediated in several Middle East crises.

Oil prices eased on Tuesday as traders remained focused on Iran-U.S. tensions.

A Reuters analysis of satellite images showed a recent build-up of aircraft and other military equipment across the region.

In particular, U.S. forces in Qatar's al-Udeid, the biggest U.S. base in the Middle East, put missiles into truck launchers as tensions with Iran ratcheted up since January, allowing them ⁠to be moved more quickly if needed.

Difference over whether to discuss missile stockpile

Oman's state news agency said Larijani and ⁠Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq discussed ways to reach a "balanced and just" agreement between Iran and the U.S., stressing the importance ‌of returning to dialogue to bridge differences and promote regional and global peace and security.

The U.S. is seeking to expand the scope of negotiations ‌with Iran beyond the nuclear issue to curb Iran's ballistic missile program, one of the biggest in the Middle East.

Tehran says its missile arsenal has been rebuilt since last year's 12-day bombing campaign by Israel and the U.S., and that its stockpile is non-negotiable.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to use a meeting with Trump in Washington on ‍Wednesday to push for any U.S.-Iran deal to include limitations on Tehran's missiles.

Baghaei said the U.S. "must act independently of foreign pressures, especially Israeli pressures that ignore the interests of the region and even the U.S."

In any negotiations, Iran would continue to demand the lifting of financial sanctions and insist on its nuclear rights including enrichment, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said.

Washington has demanded Iran relinquish its stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, a small step away from the 90% that is considered weapons grade.

Trump will decide red lines: Vance

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Mohammad Eslami, said on Monday: "The possibility of diluting 60% enriched uranium ... depends on whether, in return, all sanctions are lifted or not."

Asked whether the U.S. would allow limited uranium enrichment by Iran, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said during a visit to Armenia on Monday: "I think President Trump is going to make the ultimate determination ​about where we draw the red lines in the negotiations."

Iran ‌and the U.S. held five rounds of talks last year on curbing Tehran's nuclear program, with the process breaking down mainly due to disputes over uranium enrichment inside Iran.

Since Trump struck Iran's facilities, Tehran has said it has halted enrichment activity. It has always said its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.