US signals possible breakthrough in Iran negotiations within days

US seeks separate tracks for Iran and Lebanon talks as regional tensions rise

US President Donald Trump has said he wants to keep diplomatic discussions on the conflict involving Lebanon separate from talks related to tensions with Iran, despite Tehran insisting the issues are closely connected.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Donald Trump said he believed the matters should be treated independently.

“I’d like to separate it… because it is separate,” he said, without giving further details on how the negotiations would be structured.

The comments come amid ongoing diplomatic activity involving Iran, with Trump also suggesting that discussions with Tehran could produce results within days.

“I hear the negotiation itself is going very well actually,” he said, adding that a potential deal “could happen… over the weekend.”

Iran warns of regional war escalation over Lebanon

Tensions in the Middle East also intensified after Iran warned that any attack on Beirut could trigger a wider regional war.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said an assault on the Lebanese capital would lead to a “full-scale resumption” of conflict in the region, as Israel continues military operations against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

He said Iran considers the conflicts in Lebanon and its wider confrontation with Israel and the United States to be closely linked.

“The fate of the war between Iran and the Zionists (Israel) and Americans is inseparable from the fate of the battle in Lebanon,” he was quoted as saying in remarks to Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen.

Araghchi warned that any strike on Beirut would have “grave consequences” and said Iranian forces were ready to respond if Israel targeted the city.

He also reiterated Tehran’s position that any end to the conflict in Lebanon would require the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied areas.

US warns of escalation risk in Ukraine war

In a separate development, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned lawmakers that the war in Ukraine carries a growing risk of escalation as Ukrainian forces improve their ability to carry out long-range strikes inside Russia.

“Ukraine has become increasingly effective at conducting long range strikes deep into Russia,” Rubio told a congressional committee.

He said this underlined the urgency of diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, warning that the danger of escalation was now “more real than it was two years ago.”