WASHINGTON
\nThe United States military is ready to carry out possible strikes on Iran as early as this weekend, CNN reported citing familiar sources, as Tehran and Russia announced fresh joint naval exercises in regional waters. However, the international media report said, US President Donald Trump will make the final decision on whether to strike Iran.
\nThe report comes amid Omani-mediated talks between the two countries in Geneva, with White House confirming a \u201clittle bit of progress\u201d but saying distance remained on some issues. It added that Tehran was expected to come back with more details in a couple of weeks. The second round of negotiations was held on Tuesday, after talks last year collapsed following Israel\u2019s attack on Iran in June, which started a 12-day war.
\nThe talks were aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, while Tehran is demanding the lifting of US sanctions. Iran has insisted that the discussions be limited to the nuclear issue, though Washington has previously pushed for Tehran\u2019s ballistic missiles programme. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily against Iran, first over a deadly crackdown on protesters last month and then more recently over its nuclear programme.
\nAccording to the CNN report, the White House has been briefed that the military could be ready for a strike by the weekend, after a sufficient air and naval resources buildup in the Middle East.
\nMeanwhile, the media outlet, quoted another source and claimed that Trump has privately argued both for and against military action and polled advisers and allies on what the best course of action is.
\nHowever, Reuters, citing an unnamed senior US official, reported that top US national security advisers met in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss Iran and were told all US military forces deployed to the region should be in place by mid-March, the official said. Reuters, quoting a US official, also reported that Tehran is expected to submit a written proposal on how to resolve its standoff with the United States in the wake of US-Iran talks in Geneva.
\nSecretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to discuss Iran on February 28, the official said. Tuesday\u2019s indirect discussions in Geneva between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, were aimed at heading off a mounting crisis between the two countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON The United States military is ready to carry out possible strikes on Iran as early as this weekend, CNN reported citing familiar sources, as Tehran and Russia announced fresh joint naval exercises in regional waters. However, the international media report said, US President Donald Trump will make the final decision on whether to strike […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-532332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n