• President Trump says Israeli attack on Iran ‘could very well happen’; announces withdrawal of American personnel from the region
• US, Iranian officials to hold sixth round of talks in Oman on Sunday

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has called on Israel not to attack Iran, saying a deal on its nuclear programme remained close, but Tehran defiantly vowed to increase its output of enriched uranium ahead of new talks.

US and Iranian officials will hold a sixth round of talks on Tehran’s escalating uranium enrichment programme in Oman on Sunday, according to US and Omani officials.

But security fears have risen since US President Donald Trump said a day ago American personnel were being moved out of the region because “it could be a dangerous place”.

The development comes on the heels of a vote by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) policy-making Board of Governors, that declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years, raising the prospect of reporting it to the UN Security Council.

On Thursday, Trump said that an Israeli strike on Iran “could very well happen”, but he would not call it imminent and that he would prefer to avoid conflict with Tehran and reach a peaceful solution over its nuclear programme.

US intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations to hit Iran’s nuclear installations. But one US official said there was no sign that Israel had made a final decision.

Separately, an Iranian official said a “friendly country” had warned it of a potential Israeli attack.

“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at a White House event, adding that Iran could not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

“I’d love to avoid the conflict,” he said. “Iran’s going to have to negotiate a little bit tougher, meaning they’re going to have to give us something they’re not willing to give us right now.”

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that a “friendly” country had alerted Tehran to a potential strike on its nuclear sites by Israel. Iranian state media reported that Iran’s military had begun drills earlier than planned to focus on “enemy movements”.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that even if the country’s nuclear facilities were destroyed by bombs they would be rebuilt, state media reported on Thursday.

The IAEA resolution was the culmination of a series of stand-offs between the watchdog and Iran since Trump pulled the US out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers in 2018 during his first term, after which that accord unravelled.

An IAEA official said Iran had responded by informing the UN watchdog that it plans to open a third uranium enrichment plant.

Enrichment can be used to produce uranium for reactor fuel or, at higher levels of refinement, for atomic bombs. Iran says its nuclear energy programme is only for peaceful purposes.

After the IAEA decision, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said Tehran’s actions undermined the global Non-Proliferation Treaty and posed an imminent threat to regional and international security and stability.

Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that the US is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, according to US and Iraqi sources.

A US official said the State Department had authorised voluntary departures from Bahrain and Kuwait.

The State Department updated its worldwide travel advisory on Wednesday evening to reflect the latest US posture. “On June 11, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency US government personnel due to heightened regional tensions,” the advisory said.

“They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters. “We’ve given notice to move out.”

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2025