Iran hits back over Trump's military warning, says ready to discuss nuclear deal with US only if...

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi reacted to the US building military might in the Middle East, saying that not only Iran, but "everybody will suffer" if there is any aggression.

In an interview with the BBC, Ravanchi said, "It will be traumatic...bad for everybody. It is not as if Iran will suffer only; everybody will suffer, particularly those who have initiated this aggression."

"If you feel that this is an existential threat, we will respond accordingly," the Iranian minister said.

The comment came as the US reportedly sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East this week.

Asked earlier on Friday why a second aircraft carrier was headed to the Middle East, Trump said: "In case we don't make a deal, we'll need it ... if we need it, we'll have it ready."

The US most recently had two aircraft carriers in the area last year, when it carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites in June.

"We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our program, provided that they [US] are ready also to talk about the sanctions," he said.

"Sanctions, as we call them, illegal sanctions....those sanctions have to be also on the table," the Iranian minister told the BBC.

He said, "One cannot accept the notion that Iran has to do certain things without other side committing itself to do their share."

When asked if he is optimistic a deal can be reached with the US, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said it is "too early to say whether we will reach an agreement."

"After one round [of talks], one cannot say for sure...One meeting is not enough to assure us that the other side is serious," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister said.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday (local time), Trump described his recent meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "very good" and said, "We have to make a deal, otherwise it is going to be very traumatic [for Iran] and I don't want it to happen..."

"If they don't make a deal, it is going to be a different story...", he said.

According to the report, US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to attend the meetings.

Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced, as per the Russian news agency TASS, that the trilateral meetings between Ukraine, Russia, and the US would be held in Geneva on February 17-18.

Iran and the US held the previous rounds of nuclear talks in April 2025 in Muscat, Oman, and Rome, Italy.

The deal collapsed in 2018 with Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord.