Donald Trump has warned Iran of “consequences” if a new phase of talks on Tehran’s nuclear facilities does not produce an agreement.
Washington has sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East and is preparing for a possible military campaign if the negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, are inconclusive, officials have told the Reuters news agency.
Iran itself began a military drill on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz – a vital international waterway and oil export route from Gulf Arab states, which have been appealing for diplomacy to end the dispute.
Iranian state TV said the route would be closed for several hours because of “safety and maritime concerns” as it conducts live fire drills. Iran has launched missiles into the Strait of Hormuz, state TV added.
It is the first time Iran has closed parts of the strait since the US began threatening military action.
Speaking on Air Force One, the US president suggested the Iranians may be motivated to reach an agreement with Washington.
“I’ll be involved in those talks, indirectly, and they’ll be very important,” he said.
“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal.
“We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential.
“And we had to send the B-2s,” he added, referring to last year’s US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Previous negotiations were held in Oman earlier this month.
Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner will be in Switzerland on Tuesday for the second round of talks which are being mediated by Oman.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the negotiations for Tehran, said on X: “I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal.
“What is not on the table: submission before threats.”
The Trump administration is seeking a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear programme and ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons.
Iran says it is not pursuing weapons and has so far resisted demands that it halt uranium enrichment or hand over its supply of uranium.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a news conference in Budapest that it was hard to do a deal with Iran, but the US was willing to try.
Rubio: ‘No one has ever made deal with Iran – we’re trying’
Mr Trump told reporters the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, was being sent to the region.
The USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying guided-missile destroyers were deployed last month.
Iran has warned the US that any attack will be treated as “an all-out war against us”.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump issues blunt warning ahead of Ukraine war talks
Five dead after fire at apartment building in Spain
In the last few days, Mr Trump has said that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen”.
It is thought tens of thousands of people may have been killed during protests against the Iranian regime in recent months.
On Saturday, about 200,000 people demonstrated against the Iranian regime on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.