‘I am considering it,’ Trump says; Iranian FM says ‘a fast deal is something that both sides are interested in’
US President Donald Trump speaks during a Working Breakfast with Governors at the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 20, 2026. — AFP
United States President Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering a limited strike on Iran after ordering a major naval buildup in the Middle East aimed at heaping pressure on Tehran to cut a deal to curb its nuclear programme.
The latest threat came after Iran’s foreign minister said a draft proposal for an agreement with Washington would be ready in a matter of days following negotiations between the two sides in Geneva earlier this week.
Trump had suggesting on Thursday that “bad things” would happen if Tehran did not strike a deal within 10 days, which he subsequently extended to 15.
Asked by a reporter on Friday whether he was contemplating a limited military strike, Trump answered: “The most I can say — I am considering it.”
After the talks in Geneva, Tehran said the two sides had agreed to submit drafts of a potential agreement, which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told US media would be the “next step”.
“I believe that in the next two, three days, that would be ready, and after final confirmation by my superiors, that would be handed over to Steve Witkoff,” he said, referring to Trump’s main Middle East negotiator.
Read More: US, Israel warn Iran amid military buildup
Araghchi also said US negotiators had not requested that Tehran end its nuclear enrichment programme, contradicting statements from American officials.
“We have not offered any suspension, and the US side has not asked for zero enrichment,” he said in an interview released today by US TV network MS NOW.
“What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran’s nuclear programme, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever,” he added.
His comments stand in contrast to information relayed by high-ranking US officials, including Trump, who has repeatedly said Iran must not be allowed to enrich uranium at any level.
Western countries accuse the Islamic republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies, though it insists on its right to enrichment for civilian purposes.
Iran, for its part, is seeking to negotiate an end to sanctions that have proven to be a massive drag on its economy.
Also Read: No country can deprive Iran of enrichment rights, says country’s atomic chief
Economic hardships sparked protests in December that evolved into a nationwide anti-government movement last month, prompting a crackdown from authorities that left thousands dead, rights groups say.
‘No ultimatum’
The two foes held an initial round of discussions on February 6 in Oman, the first since previous talks collapsed during the 12-day Iran-Israel war last June, which the US joined by striking Iranian nuclear facilities.
Washington has pursued a major military build-up in the region in tandem with the talks, and both sides have traded threats of military action for weeks.
On Thursday, Trump again suggested the US would attack Iran if it did not make a deal within the timeframe he laid out.
“We have to make a meaningful deal otherwise bad things happen,” Trump told the inaugural meeting of the “Board of Peace”, his initiative for the post-war Gaza Strip.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, warned that US bases, facilities and assets would be “legitimate targets” if the US followed through on its threats.
Araghchi, however, insisted that “there is no ultimatum”.
“We only talk with each other how we can have a fast deal. And a fast deal is something that both sides are interested about,” he said.
“We are under sanctions, [so] obviously any day that sanctions are terminated sooner it would be better for us,” he said, adding Iran had “no reason to delay”.
Read More: Trump says change of power in Iran would be ‘best thing’
Washington has repeatedly called for zero enrichment, but has also sought to address Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its alleged support for militant groups in the region — issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks.
The Israeli army said today that it was on “defensive alert” regarding the situation with Iran, but that its guidelines for the public remained unchanged.
Ratcheting up the pressure, Trump has deployed a significant naval force to the region.
After sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and escort battleships to the Gulf in January, he ordered a second carrier, the Gerald Ford, to depart for the Middle East.
Iranian naval forces also conducted military drills this week in the Gulf and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz in their own show of force.
US strikes could target individual leaders, officials say
Two US officials told Reuters that military planning on Iran has reached an advanced stage with options including targeting individuals as part of an attack and even pursuing regime change in Tehran, if ordered by President Trump.
The military options are the latest signs that the US is preparing for a serious conflict with Iran should diplomatic efforts fail. Reuters first reported last week that the US military was preparing for a sustained, weeks-long operation against Iran that could include striking Iranian security facilities as well as nuclear infrastructure.
The latest revelations suggest more granular, ambitious planning ahead of a decision by Trump, who has in recent days publicly floated the idea of regime change in the Islamic Republic.
The US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, did not offer further details on which individuals could be targeted or how the US military could attempt to carry out regime change without a large ground force.
Pursuing regime change would mark another shift away from Trump’s vows during the presidential campaign to abandon what he has called the failed policies of past administrations, which included military efforts to topple governments in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Trump has assembled a massive amount of firepower in the Middle East but most of the combat capabilities are aboard warships and fighter aircraft. Any major bombing campaign could also count on support from US-based bombers.
In his first term, Trump showed a willingness to carry out targeted killings by approving a 2020 attack on Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, who led the foreign espionage and paramilitary arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), known as the Quds Force.
The Trump administration formally labelled the IRGC a foreign terrorist organisation in 2019, the first time Washington had applied the designation to another nation’s military.
One of the US officials noted Israel’s success targeting Iranian leaders during its 12-day war with Iran last year. At the time, regional sources told Reuters at least 20 senior commanders were killed, including the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri.
“The 12-day war and Israeli strikes against individual targets really showed the utility of that approach,” the US official said, adding that the focus was on those involved in command and control of IRGC forces.
Still, the official cautioned that targeting individuals requires additional intelligence resources. Killing a particular military commander would mean knowing their exact location and understanding who else might be harmed in the operation.
It was unclear to the officials who spoke with Reuters what intelligence the US has on Iranian leaders who could potentially be targeted.
The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
US officials have told Reuters they fully expect Iran to fight back in the event of an attack, raising the risk of US casualties and a regional conflict, given the number of countries that could come under fire from Iran’s missile arsenal.
