Iran-US tensions highlights: Trump says Iran is negotiating with US, 'we'll see if we can do something'

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: An explosion took place on Saturday at a building in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf coast, though the cause of the blast was as yet unknown, AFP reported, citing state media.

State television reportedly said the explosion occurred at an eight-storey building, "destroying two floors, several vehicles, and shops" in the area of Moallem Boulevard in the city.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: U.S. allies and partners in the Middle East have urged restraint from both the United States and Iran as the Trump administration warns of a possible strike.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman and Qatar have been in touch with leaders in Washington and Tehran to make the case that an escalation by either sides would cause massive destabilisation throughout the region and affect energy markets, Associated Press reported, citing officials

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Ties between the United States and Iran have remained strained since nationwide protests erupted across Iran, with reports of thousands killed in crackdowns by state security forces.

The situation has escalated further in recent days after US President Donald Trump warned of possible military action against the Islamic Republic and directed a US aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East.

Trump intensified pressure on Iran, imposing fresh sanctions and urging the regime to “make a deal,” after Tehran signalled it was ready for talks.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: The Trump administration has approved a massive new series of arms sales to Israel totalling $6.67 billion, and to Saudi Arabia worth $9 billion, Associated Press reported.

The State Department announced the sales to America's allies in the Middle East late Friday as tensions rose in the region over the possibility of US military strikes on Iran.

The Saudi sale is for 730 Patriot missiles and related equipment that “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US,” the department said.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: At a joint conference with Turkey, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had no plan to meet US officials and would not negotiate under threats or preconditions.

“We do not have any plan or programme to meet or discuss with any US officials,” Iran International quoted Araghchi as saying.

“Negotiation cannot be dictated,” he said. “If one party is threatening and setting preconditions, that is no longer a negotiation."

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday said that Iran has never sought nuclear weapons and is ready to embrace a fair and equitable nuclear deal. In an X post after meeting with Turkish President Erdogan, he said, “I reiterated that Iran has never sought nuclear weapons and is ready to embrace a fair and equitable nuclear deal that meets the legitimate interests of our people”

Araghchi also wrote that this includes ensuring 'No Nuclear Weapons' and guaranteeing the lifting of sanctions.

"Iran always stands ready to engage with regional states to protect peace and stability in our region and shield it from unlawful aggression," he said.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: In response to designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organisation, Iran could move through parliament to place European armies on its terrorist list, Iran International reported, citing Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister.

Europe’s actions, he said, would not reduce regional tensions, adding that countries working for the region’s welfare and stability are regional states, not European ones, and that Europe is only fueling the fire.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Iranians in Australia rallied in Brisbane backing a nationwide uprising and exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi, videos received by Iran International on Saturday showed.

Protesters were reportedly seen chanting “Pahlavi will return” and “death to Khamenei.”

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that US, Israeli and European leaders had exploited Iran's economic problems, incited unrest and provided people with the means to "tear the nation apart” in recent protests, Associated Press reported.

In a TV broadcast, Pezeshkian said that the US, Israeli and European leaders tried to “provoke, create division, and supply resources, drawing some innocent people into this movement.”

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Iranian army chief Amir Hatami on Saturday warned the United States and Israel against an attack, saying his country's forces were on high alert after Washington's heavy military deployments in the Gulf, AFP reported

"If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime," said Hatami, noting that Iran's armed forces were "at full defensive and military readiness".

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Iranian army chief Amir Hatami on Saturday said that his country's nuclear technology "cannot be eliminated" after President Donald Trump said he expected Iran to seek a deal to avoid US strikes, AFP reported

"The nuclear science and technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot be eliminated, even if scientists and sons of this nation are martyred," Hatami reportedly said.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: The United States on Friday imposed fresh sanctions on Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and several other officials, citing Tehran's violent response to recent anti-government protests, ANI reported.

Announcing the measures, the US Treasury Department said Momeni "oversees the murderous Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (LEF), a key entity responsible for the deaths of thousands of peaceful protesters."

The sanctions package also targets multiple senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Iran's Army Chief Amir Hatami on Saturday said Iran’s armed forces are at a high level of defensive and military readiness and are closely monitoring enemy movements across the region, Iran International reported.

Hatami reportedly said, Iran’s forces have kept their “finger on the trigger,” signalling readiness to respond to any escalation.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said during a live state TV broadcast that the United States, Israeli and European leaders tried to “provoke, create division, and supplied resources, drawing some innocent people into this movement.”

"They brought them into the streets and wanted, as they said, to tear this country apart, to sow conflict and hatred among the people and create division," he added, as quoted by Reuters.

"Everyone knows that the issue was not just a social protest," he said.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: The Strait of Hormuz resembles a bend looking down from space. Its narrowest point is just 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide. It flows from the Persian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman. From there, ships can then travel to the rest of the world. While Iran and Oman have its territorial waters in the strait, its viewed as an international waterway all ships can ply. The United Arab Emirates, home to the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai, also sits near the waterway. Read more. (AP)

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, again has become a focus of tensions as Iran prepares to launch a military drill that could see fire into a lane crucial for global shipping.

Iran has warned ships that it will conduct a live fire drill Sunday and Monday in the strait, which sees a fifth of all oil traded pass through the tight corridor between the Islamic Republic and Oman.

The U.S. military's Central Command issued its own warning early Saturday, telling Tehran that any “unsafe and unprofessional behavior near U.S. forces, regional partners or commercial vessels increases risks of collision, escalation and destabilization.” (AP)

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Among the people arrested during crackdown on the recent protests in Iran were also children, said an Iran official on Friday, reported NYT.

Farshad Ebrahimpour, deputy chairman of Iran’s parliamentary education commission, told semiofficial Iranian Labor news agency that among the arrested people were also students aged under 18. However, he did not give a clear picture of how many students were arrested and that for how long will they remain in custody.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Amid the anticipation that the US could use military force on Iran as tensions between the two nations heat up, the former's army has ramped up a weeks-long military hardware buildup in the Middle East, CNN reported citing open-source data.

This hardware includes flights conducting almost constant surveillance and also several C-17 and C-5 military planes which are dropping off cargo at US bases across the middle east.

The US has also deployed Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the northern Arabian Sea, which consists of USS Abraham Lincoln with three guided-missile destroyers and the carrier air wing which includes squadrons of F/A-18E Super Hornet fighters, F-35C Lightning II fighters, and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets, the CNN report said.

Apart from the carrier strike group, the US military also has three destroyers in the region — the USS Delbert D. Black, USS McFaul, and USS Mitscher.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Iran President Pezeshkian blamed US President Donald Trump, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu and Europe of stirring tensions in recent protests held in Iran and of provoking people, reported Reuters.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Earlier this week, several supporters of Hezbollah group took out a rally to show their solidarity with Iran, in the southern suburb of Beirut on January 26 and chanted slogans while holding portraits of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On January 28, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem had said that any attack on the group's backer Tehran would also target the militants, and warned that any new war on Iran would ignite the region, reported AFP.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Iran is scheduled to commence a live-fire exercise on Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway where 20% of the world’s oil passes. The US Central Command has urged Iran to avoid “unnecessary risk to freedom of navigation” during the exercise and said that they would not tolerate “unsafe” actions from Iran, including flying over U.S. military ships engaged in flight operations, high-speed boat approaches or weapons pointed at American forces.

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Nationwide protests in Iran began in late December against economic woes but broadened into a challenge to the Islamic Republic’s theocracy. Activists say the government's crackdown has killed at least 6,540 people. (AP)

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: United States President Donald Trump is seeking a nuclear deal with Iran, without having to use military force against the Islamic nation. Among the Trump administration's demands is for Iran to not have nuclear weapons.

“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform earlier this week. “Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” he added

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, Khalid bin Salman, said on social media Friday that he discussed “efforts to advance regional and global peace and stability” in Washington with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump's envoy to the region Steve Witkoff and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (AP)

Iran-US tensions LIVE updates: The United States allies in the middle east region have called for restraint from both the parties — the US and Iran — amid growing tensions between the two nations which could end up in a military confrontation, reported news agency Associated Press citing an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.

Several gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman and Qatar have been in touch with leaders in Washington and Tehran to make the case that an escalation by either or both sides would cause massive destabilization in the region.

They also warned that such an escalation would also impact energy markets, the official said on condition of anonymity.