Trump warns Iran 'time is running out' as US military builds up in Gulf

Donald Trump has warned Iran that "time is running out" to negotiate a deal on its nuclear programme following the steady build up of US military forces in the Gulf.

The US president said a "massive Armada" was "moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose" towards Iran in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: "Conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful."

Trump has previously said he would "rescue" protesters involved in the brutal and unprecedented crackdown on demonstrations in Iran earlier this month.

"If they want negotiations to take shape, they must certainly set aside threats, excessive demands and raising illogical issues," Araghchi said in televised remarks, translated by the AFP news agency.

"Hopefully Iran will quickly 'Come to the Table' and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS," Trump wrote.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and has repeatedly denied seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The US president said the naval force in the Gulf was larger than one sent to Venezuela before US forces seized the country's former leader Nicolás Maduro.

Trump added that this force was "ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary".

Referring to the US strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites - launched during Israel's 12-day war with Israel last year - Trump warned: "The next attack will be far worse! Don't make that happen again."

Using open source tools, BBC Verify has been able to track some of the US deployments to the area. A US defence official confirmed to BBC Verify that a naval "armada" led by the USS Abraham Lincoln had also arrived in the Middle East.

In June 2025, US strikes targeted three uranium enrichment facilities in Iran: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

American officials then said the operation - codename "Midnight Hammer" - had significantly set back the prospect of Tehran building a nuclear weapon.