Washington, 13 February 2026 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump has warned Iran of serious consequences if it fails to reach an agreement with the United States.

"This will be very traumatic for Iran if they don't make a deal," Trump said at the White House on Thursday.

He added that Iran should already have agreed to a deal last year, when Washington and Tehran were negotiating over Iran's disputed nuclear programme.

On Wednesday, after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump indicated that he preferred a negotiated agreement with Iran over military action. He added that he alone would decide how the United States proceeds, while describing the talks with Netanyahu as "very good."

Israel has long warned against any agreement limited to the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. The Jewish state has called on Iran, its arch-enemy, to scale back its arsenal of ballistic missiles and its support for allied groups in the region.

Some officials within the US administration have also pushed for broader demands. Overall, however, Trump has kept US objectives in the recently resumed negotiations with Iran relatively vague. Tehran has insisted it is willing to negotiate only on the nuclear issue.

After Iran violently suppressed mass protests, with thousands of demonstrators reported killed, Trump threatened Tehran with military intervention and strengthened the US military presence in the region, including with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Photo: MIA archive