Cairo, Feb 1
A senior Iranian security official said that a structure for talks with the United States is being set up.
"The formation of a structure for negotiations is progressing," Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani wrote on social media platform X, without elaborating.
Larijani's remarks followed his meeting on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, which focused on economic cooperation and significant regional and international issues, Xinhua news agency reproted.
The remarks also came amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States, with the latter bolstering its military presence in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump said a "massive armada," led by the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and larger than the fleet sent to Venezuela, is heading toward Iran. The deployment reflects the heightened risk of confrontation, even as Washington publicly holds out the possibility of diplomacy.
On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces reported that the US guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black made a routine stop in Eilat on the Red Sea, underscoring ongoing US-Israeli military cooperation. Later in the day, Trump said he had given a deadline directly to Tehran, while refusing to disclose its specifics.
On Saturday, Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich wrote on X that she had an interview with Trump earlier in the day, during which the US president indicated that Washington hopes to continue talks with Iran and achieve results.
According to Heinrich, Trump also told her that Washington did not tell its Mideast allies about its plans for Iran.
On Friday, Tehran had already signaled its willingness to return to the negotiating table to ease the escalating confrontation, but only if such talks with Washington are fair and not conducted under threat.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran's Army Chief Amir Hatami warned that if the United States makes any mistake, it will definitely jeopardize its own security and that of Israel and the entire West Asia region.
Separately, a Yemeni military source told Xinhua on Saturday that the Houthi group has taken a series of military and field-level measures to raise combat readiness amid growing regional tensions, including the possibility of a US attack on Iran.
The latest developments have alarmed regional leaders and sparked urgent calls from the international community for renewed diplomacy.
- IANS
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