PARIS: Tehran always welcomes any process, within the framework of international law, that prevents war, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Tuesday, as a US naval strike force entered Middle Eastern waters.

Iran has vowed to hit back against any US strike, while President Donald Trump says he believed Tehran still wanted talks.

The statements come after unrest erupted in Iran last month over the rising cost of living, which, according to officials, began as peaceful demonstrations before turning into what they described as “foreign-instigated riots” involving killings and vandalism.

In their phone call, Pezeshkian told the Saudi ruler that US threats against the Islamic republic would only result in instability.

“The threats and psychological operations of the Americans are aimed at disrupting the security of the region and will achieve nothing other than instability for them,” his office quoted the Iranian president as saying, adding that “unity and cohesion” of Islamic countries can guarantee “lasting security, stability and peace in the region”.

The US also maintains several bases in the Middle East, prompting a Revolutionary Guards commander to issue a warning to Iran’s neighbours.

US president says Iran ‘ready for deal’ as naval strike group moves into position

“Neighbouring countries are our friends, but if their soil, sky, or waters are used against Iran, they will be considered hostile,” Mohammad Akbarzadeh, political deputy of the IRGC naval forces, was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

It also lashed out at the EU, after Italy’s foreign minister urged Brussels to go ahead with designating the force as a terrorist organisation.

Meanwhile, the US has announced a major multi-day Air Force exercise in the region, in a bid to “demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower across” the Middle East.

Since Iran earlier this month launched the crackdown on protests accompanied by a blanket internet blackout, Trump has given mixed signals on intervention, which some opponents of the clerical leadership see as the only way to bring about change.

Monitor Netblocks on Tuesday reported intermittent connectivity but warned internet access remained “heavily filtered on a whitelist basis” and users would still need workarounds.

“We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela,” Trump told Axios, weeks after US military action resulted in the capture of the Latin American nation’s president Nicolas Maduro.

But he added: “They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk.” Axios said Trump declined to discuss the options presented to him by his national security team, or which one he prefers.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2026