Fresh military strike planning by the Trump administration and Iran’s warning that talks remain distant have pushed West Asia tensions back to the brink.
US President Donald Trump (File Photo: X/@WhiteHouse)
US President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing for a possible fresh round of military strikes against Iran as Tehran insists that negotiations with Washington remain far from a breakthrough, according to multiple media reports and official statements emerging on Friday.
The developments come amid rapidly intensifying tensions in West Asia, with diplomatic efforts continuing in parallel to military planning. Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s reported arrival in Tehran and renewed messaging from both Washington and Iran have further underlined the fragile state of negotiations.
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Citing sources familiar with the planning, CBS News reported that the Trump administration was preparing contingency plans for fresh military action against Iran, although no final decision had yet been taken.
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According to the report, several officials from the US military and intelligence community cancelled Memorial Day weekend plans following discussions around possible strikes.
Trump himself is also expected to alter his schedule and return to the White House instead of spending the weekend at his New Jersey golf property, CBS News and Politico reported.
Trump on Friday confirmed that he would not attend his son Donald Trump Jr’s wedding to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, citing pressing government responsibilities.
“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Speaking earlier at the White House, Trump suggested that developments involving Iran were among the reasons behind the decision.
“It’s not good timing because of a thing called Iran and other things,” he told reporters.
Trump also repeated his warning that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons.
“Iran is dying to make a deal. We will see what happens, but we hit them hard and we had no choice because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said during remarks at the White House.
Even as military rhetoric escalated in Washington, Iranian officials signalled that substantial disagreements continue to block progress in negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the distance between Tehran and Washington remained “deep and significant”.
“We cannot necessarily say that we have reached a point where an agreement is close,” Baghaei said, according to Al Jazeera.
He added that Iran’s focus remained on ending the conflict and defended Tehran’s right to pursue peaceful nuclear energy under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“The reason we don’t talk about the details of nuclear-related discussions is clear. We have done this twice, and the other party’s greed led us into war,” he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that “excessive demands” from Washington were obstructing peace efforts, according to Al Jazeera.
During a phone conversation with Guterres, Araghchi accused the US of repeatedly undermining diplomacy through “broken promises” and “contradictory positions”, while insisting that Iran continued to engage in negotiations.
Amid the heightened diplomatic activity, Iran’s Consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif announced that Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had arrived in Tehran.
Pakistan has increasingly emerged as a communication channel between Tehran and Washington in recent weeks as indirect negotiations continue.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said discussions were underway with NATO allies regarding contingency plans related to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes.
“We have to have a plan B for if someone is shooting,” Rubio said during a ministerial summit in Sweden.
He added that while the preferred outcome would be reopening maritime access, Washington also had to prepare for a scenario in which Iran refused to cooperate.
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