Iran-US Tensions News Live Updates: ‘If US attacks, it will turn into regional conflict’, warns Khamenei

The top US and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking ‍on ⁠condition of anonymity.

The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between US General Dan Caine, the chairman ​of the Joint Chiefs of ‌Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of ​staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.

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Iran speaker of parliament said Sunday that the Islamic Republic now considers all European Union militaries to be terrorist groups.

The comment by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf follows an EU agreement last week to list Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group over its part in the bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country. Qalibaf cited a 2019 law as authorization for the announcement.

An explosion tore through an apartment building Saturday in Iran 's port city of Bandar Abbas, killing a 4-year-old girl as local media footage purportedly showed a security force member being carried out by rescuers.

The blast happened a day before a planned naval drill by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes.

Donald Trump has said Iran is “talking to” the US and hinted at a deal to avoid the use of military strikes.

“[Iran is] talking to us, and we’ll see if we can do something, otherwise we’ll see what happens … We have a big fleet heading out there,” he told Fox News. “They are negotiating.”

Trump added that US allies in the region were not being told of plans for possible strikes due to security reasons. He has threatened to intervene in Iran in the wake of a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

“Well, we can’t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan – it could be worse, actually,” he said.

Amid the din of global speculation over US military build-up in the Middle East, Israel's leaders have remained unusually silent.

Aside from some remarks in support of Iran's anti-government protests this month, Israel's prime minister has had little to say publicly about his superpower ally taking on his biggest enemy. His government has remained equally silent.

"It shows you the importance Netanyahu puts on this moment," said Danny Citrinowicz, who served for 25 years in Israel's Defence Intelligence, and is now senior Iran researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies.

"For Netanyahu, being in this position where the US has so many forces in the Gulf, being so close to Trump attacking Iran, this is - for him - a golden moment in time that he cannot forgo."

A top Iranian Military official has warned that Tehran’s response to a potential US attack on the country would be immediate and decisive. Iran’s military spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said the Armed Forces are now operating under clear instructions that leave no room for delay if the enemy repeats a “miscalculation.”

“If the enemy commits another foolish move and once again falls into miscalculation, we will respond instantly and in real time,” Akraminia was quoted as saying by Iran’s state-owned Press TV.

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According to analysts, the US could carry out a decapitation strike targeting even Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the top leadership of the government and the military, and let the regime collapse in the chaos. While most agree that it is not going to be an easy operation like what the US did in Venezuela, others say the military build-up could be used as a pressure tactic and a sign to the protesters to hit the streets once again to topple the government in an uprising. There are also reports that the US would take out what remains of Iran’s nuclear programme after last year’s strike, in the initial hours of any operation, leaving the regime further on the backfoot.

India, EU sign ‘mother of all deals’

On January 27, a day after marking its 77th Republic Day, India signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU). European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the FTA, which was in the making for nearly 20 years, the “mother of all deals”.

Internet services were cut off in Iran on January 8 as the regime moved to crush the unprecedented anti-government protests that had gripped the country.

In the next two days, the Iranian regime is believed to have unleashed a brutal crackdown on the protests, in which anywhere from 6,000 to more than 30,000 demonstrators have been killed.

While the Ayatollah and the government of President Masoud Pezeshkian survived the biggest uprising since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, they have a bigger challenge waiting for them.

US President Donald Trump said Iran wants to reach an agreement with Washington rather than face possible military action, even as Tehran ruled out negotiating its missile and defence capabilities.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said he believed Iran was interested in talks, days after the US increased its military presence near the country and warned that time was “running out” for a nuclear deal.

Iran, however, said there are no talks planned at present and insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful.

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