{"id":198654,"date":"2026-01-30T15:07:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/iran-prepares-for-war-as-us-military-armada-approaches-al-jazeera\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T15:07:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:07:12","slug":"iran-prepares-for-war-as-us-military-armada-approaches-al-jazeera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/iran-prepares-for-war-as-us-military-armada-approaches-al-jazeera\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran prepares for war as US military \u2018armada\u2019 approaches – Al Jazeera"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diplomatic efforts intensify as Iran emphasises defensive readiness over negotiations with the US.<\/em>
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Tehran, Iran \u2013<\/strong> Iranian authorities have signalled that they are ready to defend their country as the United States continues to threaten a military attack, amid regional diplomatic efforts to avoid a new conflict.
Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Istanbul on Friday, where the pair discussed the escalating tensions amid the ongoing US threats and military buildup in the region.
At a press conference following the meeting, Araghchi said his country remained ready to return to negotiations with the US, insisting diplomacy was the only path to resolving tensions.
\u201cWe will never give up diplomacy,\u201d said Iran\u2019s top diplomat, stressing that dialogue, rather than confrontation, remained Tehran\u2019s preferred approach, and that the process must be based on \u201cjustice and law\u201d.
Ahead of Araghchi\u2019s remarks, Turkiye\u2019s Fidan urged Washington to resist what he said was Israeli pressure for military attacks on Iran.
\u201cWe see that Israel is trying to persuade the US to launch a military attack on Iran,\u201d Fidan said, adding that he hoped the US would \u201cact with common sense and not allow this to happen.\u201d
\u201cThese efforts have the potential to severely damage the already fragile stability of our region,\u201d he added.
He called for a resumption of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, saying such a step was \u201cvital for reducing regional tensions,\u201d and said he was optimistic that solutions would be found.
Araghchi\u2019s trip to Turkiye has come amid a flurry of high-level talks, as regional leaders hope to convince the US not to attack, and the two sides to find some kind of compromise.
US President Donald Trump said late Thursday he hoped to avoid military action against Iran, despite repeated threats that he would strike the country.
Asked by reporters whether he would hold talks with Iran, Trump said: \u201cI have had and I am planning on it.\u201d
He added that a US strike group was \u201cheaded out to a place called Iran, and hopefully we won\u2019t have to use it\u201d.
A US \u201carmada\u201d \u2013 as Trump has described it \u2013 continues to position itself near Iran\u2019s waters<\/a>, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. Israeli media reported Friday that the destroyer USS Delbert D Black had docked in the southern port of Eilat.
And in Iran, top political, military and judicial authorities continue to send messages of defiance, indicating that Iran\u2019s focus is on defence, and not talks.
\u201cTehran\u2019s priority is currently not to negotiate with the US, but to have 200 percent readiness to defend our country,\u201d Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team, was quoted as saying by state media on Wednesday.
Gharibabadi said that messages have recently been exchanged with the US through intermediaries. But he added that even if conditions were suitable for talks, Iran would remain fully prepared to defend itself, noting that it was previously attacked \u2013 first by Israel and then the US \u2013 last June, just as negotiations were about to get under way<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Iran has emphasised its military strength in recent days, following on from numerous military exercises held since June\u2019s 12-day war, when a number of its senior military officials were killed, and nuclear sites were attacked.
The Iranian army announced on Thursday that 1,000 new \u201cstrategic\u201d drones joined its forces. They include one-way suicide drones, as well as combat, reconnaissance and cyberwarfare-capable aircraft that can hit fixed or mobile targets on land, air and sea, according to the army.
\u201cProportionate to the threats facing us, the agenda of the army includes maintaining and improving strategic advantages for fast combat and a decisive response to any aggression,\u201d army commander Amir Hamati said in a short statement.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also previously touted its ability to endure attacks and keep launching ballistic and cruise missiles<\/a> at Israel, as well as US assets across the region if necessary.<\/p>\n

In Tehran and across the country, Iranians have closely followed Trump\u2019s often contradictory rhetoric \u2013 renewing threats while also expressing his willingness to talk.
The Islamic Republic\u2019s most fervent supporters appear steadfast in their support for the government, even as Washington says that the Iranian state is at its weakest<\/a> since coming to power nearly half a century ago, following protests that rocked the country this month and led to the deaths of thousands.
\u201cAmerica can\u2019t do a damn thing,\u201d a young woman told Al Jazeera in Tehran, repeating a refrain favoured by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his top officials.
\u201cEven if, God forbid, they launch some kind of missile towards us, it is the Islamic Republic that will give a decisive response and level their bases to the ground,\u201d she said.
But even as the government and its supporters remain focused on how much damage Iran may\u00a0potentially be able to inflict<\/a> on Israel and the US if it is attacked, many Iranians are fearful of what the second conflict in the space of a year will mean for them.
\u201cI think another war would be totally terrible for both countries [Iran and Israel], and it\u2019s the people of our country who will die in it,\u201d another young woman, a student, said from Tehran on Thursday.
\u201cIf war breaks out, we will face destruction and devastation. I hope this doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d a man in his 50s said. All of those interviewed asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.<\/p>\n

Authorities have been working to increase civilian preparedness in the event of a war.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delegated some authorities to governors<\/a> of Iran\u2019s border provinces, allowing them to import essential goods, especially food, in case of war.
Attention has also turned towards the dire need for public shelters to protect Iranians during aerial attacks.
Alireza Zakani, the\u00a0hardline lawmaker-turned-mayor of Tehran<\/a>, said in a statement on Thursday that the city municipality will build \u201cunderground parking shelters\u201d as a \u201cpriority project\u201d.
But Zakani added that the project would only be completed \u201cover the coming years\u201d, meaning that Iranians will once again have few locations to protect themselves during bombing raids if a conflict does break out imminently.
A new conflict will also likely mean the return of a communications blackout, a scenario that occurred during the June war and during the most-recent protests.
All internet and mobile access were cut off by the state across Iran on the night of January 8, during the height of the nationwide protests, during one of the bloodiest chapters of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
After imposing nearly three weeks of total blackout affecting more than 90 million people, one of the longest and most widespread in its history, Iranian authorities have restored some internet bandwidth over recent days, but communication for most people remains disconnected or heavily disrupted.
But those who have been able to get online are now seeing images of the bloodshed of the past few weeks and are worried about the potential for yet more if fighting does break out.
\u201cI\u2019m afraid that soon again we will be woken up by the sounds of loud explosions at night because of a war,\u201d a young woman in Tehran said, adding that she had been inundated with heartbreaking images and videos of protesters killed across the country. \u201cBut even without a war, death is already all around us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Diplomatic efforts intensify as Iran emphasises defensive readiness over negotiations with the US.ShareSaveTehran, Iran \u2013 Iranian authorities have signalled that they are ready to defend their country as the United States continues to threaten a military attack, amid regional diplomatic efforts to avoid a new conflict.Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Turkish counterpart […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":198655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-198654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}