Senior Iranian officials are threatening to ramp up the country's nuclear program as the Trump administration weighs a possible strike against the regime if Tehran does not come to the table for negotiations.

The U.S. is pressing to hold direct nuclear talks with Iran, U.S. officials say, as the Trump administration seeks an ambitious goal: dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program. If Iran agreed to engage, the talks would be the first sustained direct negotiations between the two countries since President Trump withdrew from the previous nuclear agreement in 2018.

US President Donald Trump said he believed that Iran was willing to engage in direct talks over its nuclear program, a day after Tehran indicated it would be willing to negotiate through intermediaries.