January 29, 2026
The Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, expressed his country’s readiness to enter into talks with the United States, provided that these negotiations are “sincere and real.” At the same time, he stressed that Iran will respond forcefully to any attack it is exposed to.
Qalibaf warned that any military confrontation would expose “thousands of American soldiers to danger,” noting that the escalation would have major repercussions on the entire region. He added that US President Donald Trump “may be able to start a war, but he has no control over how it ends.”
On the other hand, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the United States takes seriously Iranian threats to target US forces stationed in the region. Rubio explained, during a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that American forces are within range of “thousands of Iranian drones and short- and long-range ballistic missiles.”
He pointed out that between 30,000 and 40,000 American soldiers are stationed in 8 to 9 locations in the region, stressing the importance of having sufficient forces to defend them, and that President Trump “always reserves the right to use proactive defense options.”
Trump had called on Iran to quickly return to the negotiating table, warning that any future Iranian attack would be “much worse” than the previous ones. In a post on the “Truth Social” platform, he announced that a “huge fleet” was on its way to Iran, moving quickly, forcefully, and with a clear goal, calling on Tehran to negotiate a “fair and equal deal” that included not possessing nuclear weapons, noting that the available time was running out.
Trump stated that Iran’s failure to respond to previous calls to conclude an agreement led to the implementation of Operation Midnight Hammer last June, which he said caused severe damage to Iran, warning that any subsequent attack would be stronger. He added that the fleet heading to the region is larger than the one sent to Venezuela, and is led by the aircraft carrier “Abraham Lincoln,” stressing its readiness to carry out its mission quickly and forcefully if necessary.
For his part, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Irani, appealed to the UN Security Council to take a firm stance regarding the continued American threats to use force against sovereign countries and attempts to impose control over foreign lands.
