On February 5, the White House said that diplomacy is the top choice of US President Donald Trump in his approach to Iran and he will wait and see if an agreement can be reached at the upcoming tense negotiations, but noted that the US still has military options in hand.
Presidential diplomacy is always the first choice when dealing with relations with countries around the world, whether they are allies or opponents," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked about upcoming talks.
She reaffirmed Mr. Trump's stance that "zero nuclear capability" is the requirement he has repeatedly emphasized to Iran.
The final preparations for the meeting scheduled for February 6 in Oman are underway amid rising tensions, as the US strengthens its forces in the Middle East - what Mr. Trump calls a "giant fleet" - while regional parties seek to prevent the risk of escalating into a larger war.
Negotiations are still planned to be conducted even though the two sides still disagree on the agenda, increasing doubts about the prospect of reaching an agreement.
President Trump once warned that "bad things" are likely to happen if an agreement with Iran cannot be reached.
For its part, Iran affirmed that negotiations must be limited to the multi-year nuclear dispute between this country and Western powers, and emphasized that Tehran's nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes, not military.
However, on February 4, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the negotiations would have to include the range of Iran's ballistic missiles, Tehran's support for authorized armed forces across the Middle East, as well as the country's treatment of the Iranian people themselves, in addition to nuclear issues. Iranian sources said the US is asking Tehran to limit the missile range to 500 km.
The US has also deployed thousands of troops to the Middle East, along with an aircraft carrier, other warships, fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft and air refueling aircraft.
