US President Donald Trump has warned that Iran’s supreme leader must be “very concerned” as the two countries prepare for their first formal negotiations since the US launched Tehran’s nuclear program last year.
Tensions between the two countries have soared in recent weeks following a deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters across the country by Iranian security forces, which prompted President Trump to send a “fleet” of U.S. troops to the region and threaten to launch an offensive.
Iran’s military has warned that it will respond immediately and decisively to any attack, including attacks on U.S. forces or assets in the region.
“I think he (Supreme Leader Khamenei) should be very concerned. Yes, he should be,” Trump told NBC News in an interview Wednesday.
President Trump, who first threatened to attack Iran during a crackdown on street protests last month, said his actions supported the demonstrators, although he stopped short of direct action.
The high-stakes talks are scheduled to be held in Oman’s capital Muscat on Friday, and will also be attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency said.
However, the two sides seem to have different aims.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that the Trump administration wants negotiations to focus not just on Iran’s nuclear program, but also on its “ballistic missile range,” “support for terrorist organizations throughout the region,” and “treatment of its own citizens.”
Quoting Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Tasnim reported that negotiations would be limited to Iran’s nuclear program and the country’s “main demand” for sanctions relief.
Iran and the United States held several rounds of indirect nuclear talks in April and May 2025, but Israel’s surprise attack on Iran in mid-June halted further talks. The U.S. attack on Iran followed a few days later, effectively ending the process.
In an interview with NBC News, President Trump said, “If we hadn’t gotten rid of nuclear weapons, there would never have been peace in the Middle East, because the Arab countries couldn’t do that.”
“They were very afraid of Iran. They are no longer afraid of Iran.”
President Trump also said he had been informed that Iran was considering reviving its nuclear program at alternative facilities.
“They tried to go back to the scene. They couldn’t even get close,” he said.
“It was completely wiped out. But they were thinking of launching a new site in another part of the country, and we found out about it. I said, if you do that, we’re going to do something terrible to you.”
Amid rising tensions, neighboring countries are trying to mediate between the two sides to avoid war, fearing the conflict could escalate and destabilize the Middle East.
A US aircraft carrier shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, the US military said.
Hours later, two gunboats operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps approached the U.S.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to board and seize it, said Col. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.
President Trump first hinted at possible military action last month amid a nearly three-week nationwide internet blackout as large-scale anti-government protests spread across Iran and Iranians chanted slogans against the ruling theocratic regime.
Internet connectivity has been partially restored, but even behind the digital blackout, experts warn that the outlook for internet access in Iran remains bleak.
