The United States and Iran have engaged in increasingly hostile rhetoric as US warships Go to the Arabian SeaDespite regional nations seeking diplomatic solutions to avoid military escalation.
US President Donald Trump warned this week that “Time is running outIran to return to talks to reach a new deal on its nuclear program.
Trump said the naval forces he was sending to Iran’s neighborhood were greater than those previously deployed off the coast of Venezuela by US special forces. The president of a South American country was kidnappedNicolás Maduro, in a military coup in Caracas on January 3.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hit back at Trump’s threats, warning that his country’s military was ready with “fingers on the trigger”. He added that he would respond “immediately and forcefully” to any new US attack.
The increase comes after seven months of US bombers Iran’s nuclear facilities were attacked During Tehran’s 12-day war with Israel last year. Iran retaliated by attacking Qatar’s Al Udeed Air Basewhich is used by the US military. During the war with Israel, Iran fired missiles at several Israeli cities.
Earlier this month, Trump told Iranian protesters clashing with security forces that “help” was on the way, threatening to bomb Iran. However, he later retracted his warning, accepting Tehran’s promise to arrest the protesters. will not be implemented.
While Iran and the US appear to be moving toward new military buildups, key demands on both sides remain largely the same as they have been for years.
We unpack what they are:
What America wants Iran to do
Historically, the US has imposed sanctions on Iran for a number of reasons, from punishment for the hostage crisis in 1979 – when, after the Iranian revolution, students took over the US embassy along with staff – to concerns about the human rights of Iranians.
But over the past two decades, US pressure against Iran, along with crippling economic sanctions that have devastated the country’s middle class, has largely focused on Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
nuclear program
The US and some of its Western allies insist that Iran’s program is aimed at building nuclear weapons, although Tehran insists that it is only developing a civilian program to meet energy needs.
Under the nuclear deal Iran agreed with the US during the Obama administration – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – Tehran limited its uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent and its stockpile of enriched uranium to 300kg (660lb). This was enough for Iran to use for nuclear power plants, but not enough for weapons. In return, the US lifted most of the sanctions previously imposed on Iran.
At 60 percent enrichment, uranium is considered ready for weapons development. At 90 percent, it is considered fully weapon-grade.
But Trump withdrew the US from the deal in his first term as president in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. Iran, along with Russia and China, all co-signatories of the Obama deal, appeared to be trying to hold up their end of the deal for a while. Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, retained most of Trump’s restrictions even while Obama was vice president.
In his second term as president, Trump has stepped up economic coercion against Iran, which has begun rapidly enriching its uranium.
In May 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned Iran had over 400kg (880lb) of uranium enriched to 60 percent. Although weapons require uranium enriched to more than 90 percent, no non-nuclear-weapon state is known to possess uranium enriched to 60 percent.
The US and Israel used the IAEA warning as justification for bombing Iran in June.
“A lobby in Washington has consistently argued that Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear capability is a major threat to the US and the wider world, and the US government knows that this fear is widespread in the US,” Christopher Featherstone, associate lecturer in the Department of Politics, University of York, told Al Jazeera.
The US now demands that:
- Iran must not develop nuclear weapons and must abandon its civilian nuclear program.
- Iran should not enrich uranium at all – not even to a low level that would render it useless for military purposes.
- Iran must transfer any enriched uranium it already has.
Ballistic missiles
Israeli bombs and missiles killed more than 1,000 Iranians in the June war. But while Iran’s retaliatory strikes resulted in very few – 32 – Israeli deaths, Tehran’s ballistic missiles repeatedly succeeded in breaching Israel’s security. Iron DomeMany cities were hit.
Since then, US and Israeli concerns about Iran’s ballistic missiles have grown. Iran’s Imad, Khorramshahr, Gadar, Sejjil, and Soumar ballistic and cruise missiles have a range of between 1,700 km and 2,500 km (1,056–1,553 mi).
This puts Israel and all US military bases in the Middle East within range of these missiles.
The US now demands that:
- Iran must curb the number and range of its ballistic missiles.
Regional influence
A third major US demand involves consolidating Iran’s influence in the region through alliances with governments, religious movements and armed resistance groups.
It is called “axis of resistance“The last two years have suffered body blows. In Syria, the regime of Bashar al-Assad, a close ally, fell in December 2024; in Lebanon, Israel destroyed the leadership of Hezbollah; while Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen have also been bloodied in wars since 2023.
Nevertheless, many of these and other groups traditionally supported by Iran remain active and alive. Earlier this week, Iraq-based Dr Katib HezbollahFor example, the US warned that an attack on Iran would lead to “total war”.
The US demands that:
- Iran must end its support and ties to armed resistance groups throughout the region.
What Iran wants America to do
Meanwhile, Iran has its own demands on the US.
Financial restrictions
US sanctions, first imposed on Iran in 1979, have become more stringent in recent years, leading to shortages, inflation and economic decline.
of Iran Oil exports fell After Trump reimposed sanctions in 2018, 60-80 percent robbed the government in Tehran of billions of dollars in annual revenue.
The currency has crashed, a A record low of 1,500,000 Riyals The dollar has risen this week and that has fueled inflation and increased prices for everything Iran imports.
As a result, Iran’s middle class has shrunk dramatically in recent years.
Iran demands that:
- The US should end economic sanctions, including secondary sanctions that in effect force other nations to do business with Tehran.
nuclear program
Iran has consistently argued that its nuclear program is civilian in nature.
But since Israel and the United States launched joint strikes last year and the United Nations and European nations reimposed sanctions on Tehran in recent months, hardliners in the country have been pressing the government to rush toward building a nuclear bomb.
Although the Iranian establishment has not officially changed its position on the matter, it wants to:
- Iran continues its nuclear program, albeit within certain limits.
- Iran will be able to enrich uranium to some extent.
- A new understanding before allowing IAEA inspectors to return to the country. Iran believes that the IAEA’s report last year on its enriched uranium was fabricated to support its attacks on the US and Israel.
Ballistic missiles
Iran believes its ballistic missiles provide a much-needed defense against regional threats, particularly Israel.
These missiles give Tehran the ability to hit Israeli cities and reach US bases in the region.
Iran wants:
- Allowing it to maintain its ballistic missile program.
Regional influence
Iran’s alliances and partnerships with its neighbors are embedded in a complex web of ideological affiliations, political commitments – such as to the Palestinian cause – and strategic calculations.
It has lost al-Assad as an ally and Hezbollah has weakened. But Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei indicated Tehran’s belief in December 2024 that:
How close are we to war?
It all depends on Trump and how the ongoing back-channel negotiations between the US and Iran progress.
US allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have said they will not allow their airspace to be used for any attack on Iran. Qatar is trying to find a diplomatic solution.
Yet the US continues to increase its military presence in Iran. USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is now in the Arabian Sea.
Over the past seven months, Trump has bombed Iran, including at deeply buried nuclear facilities like Fordow.
And while Trump has called for talks, Featherstone of York University said, “it will take a tremendous diplomatic effort to see any meaningful negotiations.”
Given Trump’s track record of tearing up the Obama-era nuclear deal, Iran is “unlikely to trust him as a negotiating partner”, Featherstone said. “I also don’t think European allies want to help Trump in these negotiations, because they are so unpredictable and erratic.”