As diplomats prepare for negotiations behind closed doors, one Iranian lawmaker just went in the opposite direction—calling for pre-emptive military strikes on Israel and U.S. bases across the Middle East.

Gulf states hosting American bases are concerned they would be the first targets for retaliation—Iranian missiles or drone attacks from the Tehran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.  When the U.S. and Israel struck Iran in June 2025,

Iran’s so-called axis of resistance, its regional network of armed proxies and allied militant groups, could come to the fray to provide additional firepower to Tehran in the event of a conflict with the United States,

Even with US forces poised to strike Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CNN that he was “confident that we can achieve a deal” on Tehran’s nuclear program.

US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Tuesday to meet Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders who are expected to demand Washington take a hard line on eliminating Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Iranian MP Mojtaba Zarei urged Jordanians to seize the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and take US soldiers captive after Tehran strikes the base in a threatened upcoming ballistic missile attack.

Iran has tentatively agreed to resume nuclear talks with the US as it tries to avert the threat of strikes, in what would be the first such negotiations since the Trump administration bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites last summer.