President Donald Trump is sending both carrots and sticks towards Iran, stepping up military assets in the Middle East while also signaling talks are still on the table.

The U.S. is pressing to hold direct nuclear talks with Iran, U.S. officials say, as the Trump administration seeks an ambitious goal: dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program. If Iran agreed to engage, the talks would be the first sustained direct negotiations between the two countries since President Trump withdrew from the previous nuclear agreement in 2018.

Russia said on Friday that the question of Iran's nuclear programme should be resolved politically and diplomatically, urging restraint on all sides. Moscow has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran after U.