Tehran must do a deal or face bad thing within 10 days , Donald Trump says

independent.ie · Feb 20, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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US president Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday that it must reach a deal over its nuclear programme or “bad things” will happen and appeared to set a 10-day deadline before the US might take action.Amid a massive US military build-up in the Middle East that has fuelled fears of a wider war, Mr Trump said negotiations with Iran were going well but insisted Tehran has to reach a “meaningful” agreement.“Otherwise bad things happen,” Mr Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran, told the first meeting of his Board of Peace in Washington.Mr Trump spoke of the US airstrikes carried out in June, saying Iran’s nuclear potential had been “decimated”, adding “we may have to take it a step further, or we may not”.Today's News in 90 Seconds, Friday, February 20 “You’ll be finding out over the next probably 10 days,” he said, without elaborating.US threats to bomb Iran, with the two sides far apart in talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, have pushed up oil prices and a Russian corvette warship Thursday joined planned Iranian naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, a vital sea route for global energy.Iranian and US negotiators met on Tuesday and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said they had agreed on “guiding principles”. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday, however, that the two sides remained apart on some issues.You can’t have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weaponMr Trump said, “good talks are being had” and a senior US official said Iran would make a written proposal on how to address US concerns.Mr Trump called on Tehran to join the US on the “path to peace”.“They can’t have a nuclear weapon, it’s very simple,” he said. “You can’t have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon.”Iran has resisted making major concessions on its nuclear programme, insisting it is for peaceful purposes. The US and Israel in the past have accused Tehran of trying to develop a nuclear bomb.In a sign of growing concern over the increased tensions, Poland on Thursday became the latest European country to urge its citizens to leave Iran, with prime minister Donald Tusk saying Poles may only have hours to evacuate.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. Photo: APMr Trump began threatening strikes on Iran again in January as Iranian authorities crushed widespread protests with deadly violence that left thousands of people dead across the country.Earlier Thursday, Russia warned against an “unprecedented escalation of tension” around Iran and urged restraint amid the US military build-up in the region, which a senior American official said should be complete by mid-March.Mr Trump has sent aircraft carriers, warships and jets to the region, raising the prospect of another attack on the Islamic Republic. The United States and Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities and some military sites last June.US secretary of state Marco Rubio will meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Iran on February 28, a senior US official said.Washington wants Iran to entirely give up uranium enrichment, a process used to create fuel for atomic power plants but that can also provide material for a warhead.The US and ally Israel also want Iran to give up long-range ballistic missiles, stop supporting groups around the Middle East and stop using force to quell internal protests.Iran says it refuses to discuss issues beyond the atomic file, calling efforts to limit its missile arsenal a red line.Iran’s joint exercise with Russia came days into an extended series of Iranian naval drillsSatellite pictures have tracked both Iranian work to repair and fortify sites since last summer, showing work at both nuclear and missile sites, as well as preparations at US bases across the Middle East over the past month.Iran’s joint exercise with Russia came days into an extended series of Iranian naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, with Iranian state television showing special forces units deployed on helicopters and ships.Footage showed members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s naval special forces board a vessel in the exercise. Those forces are believed to have been used in the past to seize vessels in key international waterways.Iran also issued a rocket-fire warning to pilots in the region, suggesting it planned to launch anti-ship missiles in the exercise.Tensions are also rising inside Iran, as mourners hold ceremonies honouring slain protesters 40 days after their killing by security forces.Some gatherings have included anti-government chants, despite threats from authorities.