Iranian soldiers during an exercise in the Gulf of Oman.Image: keystone
02/20/2026, 07:1802/20/2026, 07:18
In view of a possible military escalation in the conflict between Washington and Tehran, Iran has threatened to take “decisive and appropriate” countermeasures in the event of an attack. “All bases, facilities and assets of enemy forces in the region (…) represent legitimate targets,” says a letter from the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The US military maintains a number of bases in the Middle East with a total of tens of thousands of soldiers.
At the same time, Iran’s diplomatic mission emphasized that the country “is not seeking tension or war and will not start a war.” In the letter, Iran asserted its willingness to continue working on a diplomatic agreement. In the conflict over the Iranian nuclear program, it is certainly possible to “achieve a lasting and balanced solution”.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump set a deadline for an agreement with Iran and rated 10 to 15 days as sufficient. That is “pretty much the maximum”. At the same time, he threatened: “Either we reach an agreement or it will be unfortunate for them.” Shortly before, Trump had already warned that the world would “probably find out in the next ten days” what direction Iran would take.
The negotiations are about Iran’s controversial nuclear program. The USA wants to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran’s government says it is willing to limit its nuclear program, but in return demands the lifting of tough economic sanctions. Iran has so far ruled out negotiating other issues such as limiting its missile program. Tehran asserts that the nuclear program serves civilian purposes, not the development of nuclear weapons. (pre/sda)