Iran-US tensions: Trump is ‘not happy’ with Iran talks, urges 'no enrichment' | Highlights

US Iran tensions live updates: Iran agreed in talks with the United States never to stockpile enriched uranium, mediator Oman's top diplomat said on Friday, in what he called a breakthrough that he hoped would prevent war.

"This is something completely new. It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling," Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi told CBS News program "Face the Nation."

US Iran tensions live updates: Trump said on Friday that he's “not happy” with the latest talks over Iran's nuclear program but indicated he would give negotiators more time to reach a deal to avert another war in the Middle East.

“I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have. I’m not thrilled with that. We’ll see what happens. We’re talking later,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Friday. “We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating. They cannot have nuclear weapons."

US Iran tensions live updates: US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Friday that he has designated Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention.

"The Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions," Rubio said in a statement.

US Iran tensions live updates: US President Donald Trump expressed disappointment over negotiations between Washington and Tehran on Iran’s nuclear programme and warned that "sometimes you have to use force," as a large US military presence in the region raised the possibility of strikes on the Islamic Republic.

"They cannot have nuclear weapons. And we're not thrilled with the way they're negotiating. We'll see how it all works out," Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a trip to Texas.

US Iran tensions live updates: Three flights from Istanbul to Tehran were cancelled on Friday, according to data from Istanbul Airport.

They comprised a Turkish Airlines flight departing at 10:15 p.m. (1915 GMT), an ATA Airlines flight and a Qeshm Air flight, the data showed.

The US has a massive military presence in the Middle East waiting on Trump's order to attack Iran if there is no satisfactory result in talks with Tehran over its nuclear programme.

US Iran tensions live updates: US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was frustrated by Iran's position in talks but said he had not yet decided whether to carry out a threatened attack.

"I'm not happy with the fact that they're not willing to give us what we have to have. So I'm not thrilled," Trump told reporters.

US Iran tensions live updates: A covertly recorded video played in a Brooklyn courtroom shows an alleged Iran-linked operative outlining what prosecutors describe as a 2024 plot to assassinate Donald Trump.

According to prosecutors, the man, identified as Asif Merchant, attempted to hire two individuals to carry out the killing, offering $5,000 upfront. In the footage, first reported by the New York Post,

Merchant is seen placing a vape pen on a napkin to represent his intended “target” as he explains the plan.

“This is the target. How will it die?” he is heard saying during the recorded meeting.

US Iran tensions live updates: The French foreign ministry on Friday issued a travel advisory urging its citizens to avoid travelling to Israel, citing heightened security risks amid escalating tensions in the region.

The advisory comes as concerns grow over the deteriorating situation and potential instability.

US Iran tensions live updates: “Technical' discussions on Iran's nuclear programme to take place next week”, states IAEA report, AFP reported.

US Iran tensions live updates: At least nine US Air Force refueling aircraft arrived overnight at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, according to footage and open-source flight data tracked by analysts, the Times of Israel reported.

The report said the latest arrivals bring the total number of US refueling tankers at the airport to at least 14, describing the deployments as part of a broader US military buildup in the region.

It added that 11 F-22 stealth fighter jets, along with support aircraft, landed earlier this week at Ovda Airbase in southern Israel.

The tankers could be used to support US fighter jets operating from the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, which is heading toward Israel’s northern coast, the report said.

US Iran tensions live updates: An Iranian navy flotilla has returned to the country’s territorial waters after completing a 100-day mission spanning nearly 13,000 nautical miles, state media reported.

Flotilla 103, comprising the Makran forward base ship and the Bayandor-class corvette IRIS Naghdi from the regular navy, along with the Shahid Mahdavi warship of the Revolutionary Guards navy, docked at the southeastern port of Konarak, according to the report.

The mission began in early December, with the flotilla participating in the international “Exercise for Peace” drill in South Africa, state media said.

Flotilla commander Captain Emad Nejad Moridi said nine countries took part in the exercise. Despite what he described as attempts to block Iran’s participation, the flotilla maintained an “effective and strong presence” through active naval diplomacy.

US Iran tensions live updates: A senior Iranian cleric on Friday said that war remains a possible option if ongoing indirect negotiations with the United States do not yield results.

Lotfollah Dezhkam, the representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Fars province, was quoted by Iranian state media as saying that “not every negotiation necessarily leads to a result. If negotiations do not succeed, the next option, which is war, is on our table.”

He asserted that Iran is negotiating “from a position of power” and stressed that dialogue is meaningful only if the other side recognises the potential consequences of conflict.

“No one says we want to solve the issue only through negotiation, but talks are held to complete the argument,” he added.

US Iran tensions live updates: China has advised its citizens to refrain from travelling to Iran, citing safety concerns as tensions escalate in the region.

US Iran tensions live updates: Iran will never agree to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader said, as indirect negotiations with the United States continue.

Senior cleric Ahmad Khatami declared that halting enrichment was “impossible” and insisted the Islamic Republic had never accepted such a demand and would not do so now.

Referring to US President Donald Trump as a “contemporary Pharaoh,” Khatami accused him of trying to impose his will by force, according to Iranian state media.

He added that in the event of a conflict, the outcome would favour “the side of truth,” and said Iranians would choose “death with dignity” over “life with humiliation.”

US Iran tensions live updates: US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told staff at the US Embassy in Jerusalem that anyone who wants to leave the country amid rising security concerns should do so “today,” according to a report.

In an email sent to mission employees on Friday morning, Huckabee advised those wishing to depart to secure seats on outbound flights from Ben-Gurion Airport as soon as possible.

US Iran tensions live updates: The United States has authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency government personnel and their family members from Israel, citing rising security risks, the State Department said in an updated travel advisory on Friday.

The department warned that the US Embassy could further restrict or bar travel by American government employees to certain areas, including parts of Israel, Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank, without prior notice.

The advisory urged US citizens to reconsider travel to Israel and the West Bank due to terrorism and civil unrest, and advised against any travel to Gaza because of ongoing armed conflict. It also cautioned against travel within 4 km of the Lebanese and Syrian borders and within 11.3 km of the Gaza demarcation line.

Describing the security environment as complex and fluid, the department said violence could erupt without warning and urged Americans in Israel to stay alert, avoid demonstrations and review their emergency plans.

US Iran tensions live updates: Iran is just left with a few more days before US President Donald Trump's deadline over 15 days to reach a deal ends. Trump had set the deadline last week and Thursday's Geneva talks also failed to reach a deal. All eyes will now be on talks in Vienna next week.

US Iran tensions live updates: As Iran said that US must drop ‘excessive demands’ reports said that US team had some tough demands for the Iranians during the talks which included that they destroy the three main nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The US also said any nuclear deal must last forever and not have so-called sunset clauses, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.

US Iran tensions live updates: Iran said it won’t allow any of its highly enriched uranium to be moved out of the country, Press TV said, citing Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

US Iran tensions live updates: The American delegation were leaving Geneva disappointed with the progress of the talks, Bloomberg reported, adding that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were disappointed by what they heard from Iranian officials in their morning session in Geneva on Thursday. Officials from Iran and mediator Oman were more upbeat. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi hailed “significant progress” in a post on X. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV that technical teams would meet in Vienna starting Monday, together with experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The political talks will resume later next week after consultations in each country’s capital, he added.

US Iran tensions live updates: Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that in order to reach a deal, the United States will have to drop its “excessive demands”. The remark comes after the Geneva talks ended without a deal, though on a positive note.

In a phone call with Egypt's top diplomat Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi said "success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands."

Via AFP

US Iran tensions live updates: Iran on Friday urged US to 'drop excessive demands' ahead of another round of talks in Vienna next week.

US Iran tensions live updates: As the Geneva talks ended on a positive note, though without a deal to end the stalemate between US and Iran, another round of talks is reportedly going to be held in Vienna next week. The talks are being moderated by Oman.

US Iran tensions live updates: Tehran and Washington have sat through three rounds of talks, mediated by Oman, so far this year in a attempt to avert a war-like situation.

• First round of talks was held on February 6 in Oman.
• Oman talks were followed by another round on February 17 in Geneva
• Third round of talks was held in Geneva on Thursday and has shown most progress so far. Iran also said the talks were the ‘longest and most serious’ so far.