14:11 GMT24 January 2020
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    Tensions between the US and Iran have been rising since the former's unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actions (JCPOA) in 2015. Recently the US has sent the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East, while promising to deploy as many as 120,000 additional troops to the region.

    WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — President Donald Trump told reporters that there are no signs Iran is preparing  actions against US interests in the Middle East, adding that any provocation by Tehran will be met "with great force."

    "We have no indication that anything's happened or will happen, but if it does, it will be met, obviously with great force," Trump said on Monday as quoted by a White House press pool report.     

    US President Donald Trump, speaking from the White House Rose Garden, called Iran "hostile", noting that he is willing to have talks with Tehran when the latter is "ready."   

    ​Washington is currently waging a pressure campaign against Iran, the recent developments of which include designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization and a toughening of sanctions against Iranian iron, steel, aluminium and copper.

    In response, Tehran suspended some of its obligations in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

    Earlier Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said that the collapse of the deal would be dangerous for the country and the whole world. Rouhani sent a letter to the signatory states, informing them they have 60 days to return to the negotiating table to ensure Iran's interests are still protected by the agreement.

    READ MORE: Tehran Increases Uranium Enrichment Fourfold Amid Iran Deal Suspension — Report

    The United States has recently stepped up its military presence in the Middle East in what National Security Adviser John Bolton has called "a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime."

    The deployment includes a carrier strike group, Patriot missiles, B-52 bombers and F-15 fighters.


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    escalation, statement, talks, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hassan Rouhani, Donald Trump, Iran, United States
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