France says Iran military clash 'almost inevitable' without deal

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff reacted "great" to a spirited statement by Iran's foreign minister on X before swiftly deleting the post.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had written four paragraphs lamenting Washington's exit from a nuclear deal and recent talk of attacking Iran.

"10 years after signing the JCPOA—and 7 years after the US unilaterally walked away from it—there is not ONE SHRED OF PROOF that Iran has violated this commitment," Araghchi wrote, referring to a 2015 agreement from which the United States withdrew in Trump's first term.

"Diplomatic engagement worked in the past and can still work. BUT, it should be clear to all that there is—by definition—no such thing as a 'military option' let alone a 'military solution'," he added.

Witkoff, who has spearheaded talks for Trump in Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia conflicts as part of the populist President's bid to wind down foreign reports, replied simply: "Great".

It was not immediately clear if the expunged monosyllable, which marks the first public interaction between Tehran and the Trump administration, was meant in earnest, irony or error.

Moscow deems 'illegal' the threats against Iran's nuclear infrastructure, Reuters said on Wednesday citing the Russian foreign ministry.

The report follows a discussion between the deputy foreign ministers of Russia and Iran, Sergei Ryabkov and Majid Takht Ravanchi on Wednesday in which the sides accused Western countries of "artificially and unreasonably" inflaming tensions over Tehran's nuclear program.

Using military force against Iran and threatening to strike its nuclear infrastructure would be "illegal and unacceptable," the Russian foreign ministry said, as they would cause "large-scale and irreversible radiological and humanitarian consequences" for the Middle East and the world.

A senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned that Tehran could rethink its defense policy if the country's nuclear sites are hit, in yet another signal by Iranian officials that an atomic bomb could be pursued.

“If threats against our nuclear program materialize, we will reconsider our defense doctrine and the nature of our nuclear program. The meaning of this reconsideration is very clear” the IRGC’s deputy for political affairs Yadollah Javani was quoted by state media on Wednesday.

"The enemy's military action would take Iran's nuclear industry to a new stage, and then there must be a new definition for the Islamic Republic and the axis of resistance in regional and international equations," Javani added, referring to Tehran's armed allies in the region.

"The effects and consequences of Iran's strong counterattack will definitely create a new chapter in the equations and trends of developments in the region and the world."

US secretary of treasury Scott Bessent has asked some of the world’s biggest banks to help Washington in enforcing Iran-related sanctions aimed at cutting Tehran's oil revenue, Bloomberg reported Wednesday citing a transcribe of Bessent's remarks that it said has obtained.

"Our strategy is clear: we will apply economic pressure to the maximum extent possible to disrupt the Iranian regime’s access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilizing activities,” Bloomberg quoted Bessent as saying.

“This includes the billions of dollars each year that Iran generates via its oil sales.”

The leader of an Iran-aligned militia in Iraq warned that a conflict between Tehran and Washington could engulf the Middle East.

"Any war that might break out between Iran and the United States would not be limited to the two parties to the conflict, but would drag the entire region into the fire." Hadi Al-Amiri, the leader of the military and political group the Badr Organization said according to Iraqi state media.

"Any war against Iran will not be a picnic; rather, it will ignite the entire region," he added.

Joe Wilson, a US lawmaker from South Carolina, said on Wednesday that Tehran controls Baghdad citing remarks he attributed to Al-Amiri.

France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said military confrontation with Iran is almost inevitable if a deal is not reached, hours after a rare defense cabinet meeting over Iran in Paris.

"We only have a few months until the expiration of this (2015) accord," he told a parliamentary hearing referring to the now-defunct Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from which US president Donald Trump withdrew during his first term.

"In case of failure, a military confrontation would seem to be almost inevitable," Barrot said, adding that new EU sanctions on Iran linked to the detention of foreign citizens would be approved in the coming weeks.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Dutch counterpart Casper Veldkamp on Wednesday, according to Iranian media.

Araghchi warned that any violation of Iran's territorial integrity will be met with a swift and decisive response.

His remarks come as the US boosts its military presence in the Middle East.

Citing open-source aviation data, a Haaretz analysis reports that the US military has undertaken its most significant offensive deployment to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023.

The analysis details that in March, at least 140 heavy US transport aircraft originating from key US military bases landed in Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan, with mid-flight data indicating most were carrying equipment.

This buildup marks an approximate 50 percent increase over the previous monthly peak in US military flights to the region and includes the arrival of fighter jets, such as A-10 ground-attack aircraft deployed to Jordan and stealth F-35s sent to Saudi Arabia, accompanied by transport and refueling planes identified through flight-tracking platforms.

Satellite imagery also reveals the deployment of at least six B-2 stealth bombers, roughly a third of the US Air Force's fleet, to the US base on Diego Garcia, a location previously used for bombing missions in Afghanistan and Iraq within striking distance of both Iran and Yemen.

Ahmad Zeidabadi, a prominent political commentator in Tehran, has warned that placing excessive emphasis on Iran’s military capabilities—along with threats to develop nuclear weapons—could backfire and undermine the very deterrence it aims to achieve.

In a post on his Telegram channel, Zeidabadi wrote, “Military power aimed at confronting what is referred to as the ‘global order,’ if it exceeds its conventional bounds, turns into a threat itself rather than serving as a deterrent.”

Following widespread reports of Ali Larijani's warning that US threats could push Iran towards nuclear weapons, the advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader today highlighted another part of his Monday interview, urging President Trump to consider mutual economic interests with Tehran.

Larijani, in remarks republished on social media platform X, said, "Mr. Trump is a talented person who has been able to become so wealthy in his business. The US can define economic interests with Iran."

He added, "Trump says he is peace-loving, so he should not talk about threats and war. An attack on Iran is not without consequences, and we have experienced military commanders."

These comments, also part of his Monday interview with state television, come after Larijani explicitly said that a US or Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities would compel Tehran to alter its decision-making on nuclear weapons.

He had said that while Iran currently maintains it is not pursuing nuclear arms and IAEA inspections can continue indefinitely, external threats could force a change, driven by public demand for national security.

Larijani's earlier remarks, widely seen as a significant statement from a senior figure in Iran's establishment, followed US President Trump's threats of potential military action against Iran if a nuclear deal is not reached.