Trump doubles down on Iran threats as U.S. puts more sanctions

Jan 31, 2026 News

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(AL-JAZEERA) The US Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on seven Iranian nationals and one entity, according to an update from the US Treasury Department’s website.

Iran has threatened to instantly strike US bases and aircraft carriers in response to any attack.

This comes after US President Donald Trump warned time was running out for Tehran to make a nuclear deal and the EU blacklisted its Revolutionary Guards as a “terrorist” organisation.

The US president has been repeating for weeks that Iran needs to “make a deal”.

On Thursday, Trump spoke about how the US seemed quite close to some sort of military strike on Iran a few weeks ago, only to pull back.

Trump is continuing to weigh his options militarily and has not ruled out the possibility of US forces attacking sites inside Iran.

He is still considering all options and continuing his threat of some sort of military action … in the hope that this might bring Iran to a deal to limit its nuclear programme.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Trump says Iran “wants to make a deal” but did not elaborate about the chances of securing one.

He also said US warships heading towards Iran form a much larger “armada” than the fleet sent before the US attack on Venezuela earlier this month.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump renewed threats of US military intervention in Iran if it does not reach a deal to curb its nuclear programme and ballistic missile capacity.

“A massive Armada is heading to Iran,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. The US fleet of warships includes the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed in a post on X on Monday that the USS Abraham Lincoln had been sent to the Middle East to “promote regional security and stability”.

The vessel, which departed its home port of San Diego, California in November and had been operating in the South China Sea until last week, is one of the US Navy’s largest warships.

Trump first issued a threat to militarily intervene in Iran earlier this month during protests against the country’s government. The protests had begun in late December 2025 over the country’s worsening economic conditions. They escalated into a broader challenge to the country’s clerical leadership, which has been in power since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Trump initially backed down from his threat to attack Iran after receiving assurances that protesters would not be executed, he said. But he has since renewed them.

Tehran has stated that it is not willing to negotiate under the threat of attack and has signalled its readiness to defend Iran.

“Tehran’s priority is currently not to negotiate with the US, but to have 200 percent readiness to defend our country,” Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team, told Iranian state media on Wednesday.

He said messages had been passed to the US through intermediaries, but stated that even if conditions became suitable for talks, Iran would remain fully prepared to defend itself. He pointed out that the US launched an assault on its nuclear facilities in June last year – just as negotiations were about to begin to end its 12-day war with Israel.

During that conflict, there were few Israeli casualties, but Iranian missiles did manage to breach Israel’s much-vaunted “Iron Dome” defence system, causing alarm in Tel Aviv and Washington.

On Thursday, the Iranian army announced it had added 1,000 new “strategic” drones to its forces, including one-way attack drones and combat, reconnaissance and cyber-capable systems designed to strike fixed or mobile targets on land, in the air and at sea.

“Proportionate to the threats facing us, the agenda of the army includes maintaining and improving strategic advantages for fast combat and a decisive response to any aggression,” army commander Amir Hamati said in a short statement.

At the same time, however, Iran is pursuing diplomatic channels in a bid to de-escalate the situation.

What diplomatic efforts are taking place?

Turkiye

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Istanbul to hold high-level talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday

While announcing Araghchi’s meetings with the Turkish leaders, Esmaeil Baghaei, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said that Tehran aims to “constantly strengthen ties with neighbours based on shared interests”.

While the exact agenda for these discussions has not been revealed, the talks come amid Trump’s threats of military intervention in Iran.

Araghchi’s meeting will take place while similar discussions between Iran’s leadership and representatives of other countries continue.

Pakistan

On Thursday, Araghchi spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on a phone call.

According to a news release by the Iranian government, Dar reiterated Islamabad’s position on respecting state sovereignty, rejecting interference in other countries’ internal affairs and condemning “terrorism”.

On the same day, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Sharif wrote in an X post that the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening ties between Pakistan and Iran.

Egypt

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that its top diplomat, Badr Abdelatty, had spoken with Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff separately in a bid to “work toward achieving calm, in order to avoid the region slipping into new cycles of instability”.

Saudi Arabia and Gulf nations

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a call with Iran’s President Pezeshkian and said the kingdom would “not allow its airspace or territory to be used for any military actions against Iran or for any attacks from any party, regardless of their origin”.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made similar pledges not to allow a US strike on Iran from its territories or airspace.

India

On Wednesday, India’s deputy national security adviser, Pavan Kapoor, travelled to Tehran for meetings with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani and Deputy for International Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani.

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• Iran, sanctions, threats, Trump

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