On Thursday, January 29, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he intended to avoid taking military action against Iran, which has threatened to attack American bases and aircraft carriers in retaliation.
After earlier warning that Tehran’s time was running out as the United States dispatches a sizable naval fleet to the area, Mr. Trump stated he is in communication with Iran and left open the prospect of avoiding a military strike.
I have had and I am planning on it, Mr. Trump said to reporters when asked if he will hold conversations with Iran. Speaking to the media at the screening of a documentary on his wife Melania, the U.S. president added, We have a group headed out to a place called Iran, and hopefully we won’t have to use it.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged nuclear talks to avoid a crisis that could have devastating consequences in the region as Washington and Brussels escalated their rhetoric and Iran delivered severe warnings this week.
A spokesman for the Iranian military cautioned that Tehran’s reaction to any U.S. intervention would be decisive and delivered instantly, unlike in June of last year when American aircraft and missiles briefly joined Israel’s brief air war against Iran.
Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia stated on state television that many American locations in the Gulf region are within the range of our medium-range missiles and that American aircraft carriers have serious vulnerabilities. The manner Trump envisions conducting a swift operation and then tweeting that it is finished two hours later will undoubtedly not materialize if the Americans make such a mistake, he warned.
Trump stated, If the Americans make such a mistake, it will definitely not go as planned conducting a swift operation and then tweeting that the operation is over two hours later. Fears of a US strike on Iran are very clear, an official in the Gulf, where governments have US military installations, told AFP.
It would produce turmoil in the area, harm the US and regional economies, and drive up the price of petrol and oil, the official continued.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the leader of Qatar, and Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran, spoke over the phone about efforts being made to de-escalate tensions and establish stability, according to the Qatar News Agency (QNA).
In response to a violent crackdown on recent large-scale rallies, the European Union increased the pressure by labeling the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization.
Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union, praised the overdue ruling and stated, Terrorist is indeed how you call a regime that crushes its own people’s protests in blood. Tehran has already issued a warning in response to the EU decision, despite it being primarily symbolic.
Iran’s military denounced the illogical, irresponsible and spite-driven action of the European Union, claiming the group was acting in obedience to Israel and the United States, Tehran’s bitter adversaries.
Iranian officials have accused the two nations of inciting riots and a terrorist operation that took over nonviolent protests inspired by economic discontent. According to rights organizations, thousands of civilians were slain by security forces, notably the IRGC, Tehran’s military’s ideological wing, during the rallies.
As internet restrictions put in place on January 8 continue to impede verification, the U.S. based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it had proven 6,479 individuals were killed in the protests.
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Human rights organizations caution that the death toll is probably much higher, with estimates in the tens of thousands. Iranian authorities admit that thousands of people died during the protests, bringing the total number of fatalities to over 3,000.
However, they claim that the bulk of these killings were either bystanders or members of the security forces slain by rioters. Billboards and banners have gone up in the capital Tehran to bolster the authorities’ messages. One enormous poster seems to depict the destruction of an American aircraft carrier.
