<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US President </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="_blank" title="Donald Trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span> warned that </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/iran" rel="" target="_blank" title="Iran's"><span>Iran's</span></a><span> supreme leader should be "very worried," as both sides prepare for their first formal negotiations since the US bombed Tehran's nuclear program last year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tensions between the two countries have escalated sharply in recent weeks following a deadly crackdown by Iranian security forces on nationwide anti-government protesters. The crackdown prompted Trump to send a US military "armada" to the region and threaten to launch strikes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Iran's military has warned that any attack would be met with an immediate and decisive response, including strikes on US forces and assets in the region.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-journalist-savannah-guthrie-mother-still-out-there-says-sheriff/8e825442-ab44-42b4-9950-5e5032d8682d" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Savannah Guthrie's missing mother is 'still out there,' sheriff says</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I would say he (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader) should be very worried. Yeah, he should be," Trump told NBC News in an interview.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump, who first threatened strikes against Iran during its clampdown on street protests last month, said his actions have supported the demonstrators, despite stopping short of direct intervention.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The high-stakes talks are scheduled to take place on Friday local time in the Omani capital, Muscat, and will involve Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, according to Iran's state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/us-iran-nuclear-talks-donald-trump-warns-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-to-be-worried/f31b0de2-2ca2-4692-8b05-479e6d977387" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/start-nuclear-treaty-expiry-russia-says-its-still-ready-to-talk-to-us-on-nuclear-limits-as-existing-treaty-expires/fd126faa-bc1d-4c12-bcb8-a3b05fecf836" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Trump derides expiring nuclear treaty with Russia, demands new pact</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But both sides appear to have different agendas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the Trump administration wants negotiations to focus not only on Iran's nuclear program, but also "the range of their ballistic missiles," "their sponsorship of terrorist organisations across the region," and "the treatment of their own people."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Citing Iran's Foreign Ministry, Tasnim has reported that negotiations will be limited to Iran's nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions as the country's "primary demand."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://wwos.nine.com.au/olympics/milano-cortina-2026-penis-injections-ski-jumping-wada-investigates/22057026-16ce-42c6-9de9-5ed296f1b90c" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>WADA probes bizarre 'penis injection' claims in ski jumping</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Araghchi is on his way to Muscat heading a diplomatic delegation, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The talks will be carried out "with authority" and aimed at reaching a "fair, mutually satisfactory and honourable understanding" on the nuclear issue, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, he said, past experiences with the US continue to shape Tehran's approach to diplomacy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"At all times, we consider ourselves obliged to demand the rights of the Iranian nation," Baghaei said. He added that Iran also sees itself as responsible for not missing opportunities to use diplomacy to secure national interests and safeguard peace and stability in the region.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the same time, Iran's state-run Press TV reported, the country's "most advanced long-range ballistic missile, the Khorramshahr 4, has been deployed" at an unspecified Revolutionary Guard underground missile site. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It said the missile has a range of more than 1995km and can carry a 1.5-tonne warhead.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Iran and the US held several rounds of indirect nuclear talks in April and May 2025 before a surprise mid-June Israeli strike on Iran led to the cancellation of further talks. That was followed days later by the US strike on Iran, which effectively ended the process.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If we didn't take out that nuclear, we wouldn't have peace in the Middle East, because the Arab countries could have never done that," Trump said in the NBC News interview.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They were very, very afraid of Iran. They're not afraid of Iran anymore," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump also said he has been informed that Iran is looking to revive its nuclear program at alternative sites.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They tried to go back to the site. They weren't even able to get near it," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There was total obliteration. But they were thinking about starting a new site in a different part of the country. We found out about it. I said, 'You do that, we're going to do bad things to you.'"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As tensions simmer, neighbouring countries have been mediating between the two sides to avert a war, noting that any conflict could spread and destabilise the Middle East.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Tuesday, a US aircraft carrier shot down an Iranian drone that "aggressively approached" the ship in the Arabian Sea, according to the US military.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hours later, two gunboats operated by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps approached a US-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to board and seize the ship, said Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump first threatened possible military action last month as mass anti-government protests swept Iran and a nearly three-week nationwide internet blackout took hold, with Iranians shouting slogans against the ruling theocratic regime.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Internet connectivity has been partially restored, but experts are warning that, even on the other side of the digital blackout, the outlook for Iranian internet access remains bleak.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><strong><span> </span></strong><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>