Iran’s top diplomat said Sunday (February 22, 2026) that his country would strike back at U.S. interests in West Asia in the event of an attack, though he still saw a chance for a diplomatic resolution.

Speaking to U.S. broadcaster CBS, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he expected new talks on the details of a deal, “probably” Thursday, as fears loomed of renewed conflict after Washington carried out a major redeployment of military assets to the region.

U.S. threats of military action have multiplied since a nationwide protest movement sparked a major crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands of people.

On Sunday, Iranian students held competing pro- and anti-government protests at several universities, with critics of the clerical leadership risking arrest or worse if they are caught.

“If the U.S. attacks us, then we have every right to defend ourselves,” Mr. Araghchi said, alluding to American interests in the region as potential targets.

Still, he said, “there is a good chance to have a diplomatic solution”.

After a recent round of talks in Geneva, Iran said it was preparing a draft proposal for an agreement that would avert military action.

“I believe that when we meet, probably this Thursday in Geneva again, we can work on those elements and prepare a good text and come to a fast deal,” Mr. Araghchi told CBS.

Axios had earlier reported, citing an unnamed senior U.S. official, that if Iran submitted its proposal in the next 48 hours, Washington was ready to meet again later in the week “to start detailed negotiations”.

The U.S. has sent two aircraft carriers to the West Asia in recent weeks, along with other jets and ships, and has also shored up its air defences in the region to back up its threats of military intervention.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s chief West Asia negotiator Steve Witkoff said Saturday (February 21) in a Fox News interview that the President was questioning why Iran had not yet given in to U.S. pressure.

“He’s curious as to why they haven’t… I don’t want to use the word ‘capitulated’, but why they haven’t capitulated,” he said.

“Why, under this pressure, with the amount of seapower and naval power over there, why haven’t they come to us and said, ‘We profess we don’t want a weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do’?”

Western governments fear Iran’s nuclear programme is aimed at developing a bomb, which Tehran has long denied, though it insists on its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

On the subject of enrichment, Mr. Araghchi said on Sunday (February 22), “As a sovereign country, we have every right to decide for ourselves, by ourselves.”

Fears of war

A previous round of diplomacy last year was interrupted by Israel’s bombing campaign against the Islamic republic. That sparked a 12-day conflict in June that the US briefly joined with strikes on nuclear facilities.

Despite the recent Oman-mediated talks, Iranians’ fears of a new conflict have grown.

“I don’t sleep well at night even while taking pills,” Tehran resident Hamid told AFP, saying he worried for his “family’s health… my kids and grandchildren”.

IT technician Mina Ahmadvand, 46, believes that “at this stage, war between Iran and the US as well as Israel is inevitable and I’ve prepared myself for that eventuality”.

“I don’t want war to happen, but one should not fool around with the realities on the ground.”

The concerns have prompted several foreign countries to urge their citizens to leave Iran, including Sweden, Serbia, Poland and Australia, which warned “commercial flights are currently available but this could change quickly”.

Protests

Iran has previously said that quickly striking a deal is in its interests if means relief from sanctions that have hamstrung its economy, which contributed to protests late last year over the high cost of living.

Those demonstrations quickly expanded into mass anti-government protests that marked one of the largest challenges to the Islamic republic’s leadership in years, prompting a deadly crackdown by authorities that saw thousands killed, according to rights groups.

On Sunday, Iranian students gathered for fresh pro- and anti-government rallies commemorating those killed following similar gatherings the day before.

Local and diaspora media outlets reported demonstrations at multiple Tehran universities, with some participants waving the flag of Iran’s deposed monarchy, and others chanting “death to the shah”, who was toppled by the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Trump had initially cheered on the protesters, threatening to intervene on their behalf amid the crackdown, but his threats soon shifted to Iran’s nuclear programme.

Published – February 23, 2026 02:00 am IST

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
| Photo Credit: AP

Demonstrators rally in solidarity with the Iranian protest movement in Los Angeles. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia calls ‌on Iran and all parties in the region to exercise restraint and caution. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The U.S. Military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in ‌what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.

The disclosure by the officials, who ​spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway ⁠between the United States and Iran. U.S. Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold negotiations with Iran on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) in Geneva, with representatives from Oman acting as mediators. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned on Saturday (February 14, 2026) that while Trump’s preference was to reach a deal with Tehran, “that’s very hard to do.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has amassed military ‌forces in the region, raising fears of new military action. U.S. officials said on Friday (February 13, 2026) the Pentagon was sending an additional aircraft carrier to the Middle East, adding thousands more troops along with fighter aircraft, guided-missile destroyers and other firepower capable of ‌waging attacks and defending against them. Mr. Trump, speaking on Friday (February 13, 2026) after a military event at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, openly floated ‌the ⁠possibility of changing the government in Iran, saying it “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.” He ⁠declined to share who he wanted to take over Iran, but said, “there are people.”

Also Read | War clouds hovering around Iran despite U.S. talks

“For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking,” Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump has long voiced skepticism about sending ground troops into Iran, saying last year, “the last thing you want to do is ground forces,” and the kinds of U.S. firepower arrayed in the Middle East so ​far suggest options for strikes primarily by air and naval ‌forces. In Venezuela, Mr. Trump demonstrated a willingness to rely also on special operations forces to seize that country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, in a raid last month.

Asked for comment on the preparations for a potentially sustained U.S. military operation, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: “President Trump has all options on the table with regard to Iran.”

“He listens to a variety of perspectives on any given issue, but makes the ‌final decision based on what is best for our country and national security,” Ms. Kelly said.

The Pentagon declined to comment.

The United ​States sent two aircraft carriers to the region last year, when it carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. However, June’s “Midnight Hammer” operation was essentially a one-off U.S. attack, with stealth bombers flying from the United States to strike Iranian nuclear ⁠facilities. Iran staged a very limited retaliatory strike on a U.S. base in Qatar.

Risks increasing

The planning under way this time is more complex, the officials said.

In a sustained campaign, the U.S. military could hit Iranian state and security facilities, not just nuclear infrastructure, one of the officials said. The ‌official declined to provide specific details.

Experts say the risks to U.S. forces would be far greater in such an operation against Iran, which boasts a formidable arsenal of missiles. Retaliatory Iranian strikes also increase the risk of a regional conflict.

The same official said the United States fully expected Iran to retaliate, leading to back-and-forth strikes and reprisals over time.

The White House and Pentagon did not respond to questions about the risks of retaliation or regional conflict. Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and crushing of internal dissent. On Thursday, he warned the alternative to a diplomatic solution would “be very traumatic, very traumatic.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned that in case of strikes on Iranian territory, it ‌could retaliate against any U.S. Military base.

The U.S. maintains bases throughout the Middle East, including in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Israeli Prime ​Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Mr. Trump for talks in Washington on Wednesday (February 11, 2026), saying that if an agreement with Iran were reached, “it must include the elements that are vital to Israel.”

Iran has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its ⁠nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions, but has ruled out linking the issue to missiles.

On Saturday (February 14, 2026), Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi said U.S. military intervention ⁠in Iran could save lives and urged Washington not to spend too long negotiating with Tehran’s clerical rulers on a nuclear deal.

The exiled son of Iran’s toppled shah told Reuters in an interview there were signs that the Iranian government was on the brink ‌of collapse and that an attack could weaken it or accelerate its fall.

“We are hoping that this attack will expedite the process and the people can be finally back in the streets and take it all the way to the ultimate regime’s downfall,” said Mr. ​Pahlavi, who is based in the United States and has lived outside Iran since before his father was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

Published – February 15, 2026 07:14 am IST

U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will ⁠participate in trilateral talks with representatives from Russia and ‌Ukrain. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters