Iran warns US of 'dire consequences' as Trump set to meet Qatari PM

Iran's Foreign Ministry doubled down Monday, warning Washington that any fresh strikes would carry "dire consequences." Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told a press conference that Tehran remains in talks with mediators Qatar and Pakistan, but will only sign on to a deal that "fully secures the national interests" of Iran.

The message lands the same day President Donald Trump is set to meet Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Washington, D.C. Qatar has been one of two go-betweens trying to unstick negotiations that have been frozen since June, when the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war that erupted with joint American-Israeli strikes in February. Those opening strikes killed a lineup of senior Iranian officials and commanders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took the argument straight to American voters. In a Monday post on X, he shared a clip of Trump's Sunday interview on CBS News' "60 Minutes" and wrote that Americans and the Middle East have "had enough" of "Forever Wars," adding that Trump "clearly recognizes that the vast majority of Americans are disgusted with Israel" but "seems confused about why that's the case."

A day earlier, Araghchi pointed to the midterm election results as proof of US war fatigue. "American voters have made their choice. Time for the White House to make its own," he wrote, restating what he called Iran's two-day proposal: meet the requirements, including an end to the war on all fronts. "Or choose war, and see our alert and battle-hardened Warriors rain down hell," he added.

Trump, speaking to reporters Sunday, defended the conflict and pushed back on the toll. "On the Iran thing, we haven't had anybody killed in seven, six months. It's [a] different war," he said, comparing it to Vietnam and other conflicts where "tens of thousands" died over many years. The US has lost 18 service members in the war so far, with hundreds more wounded.

At sea, the danger hasn't lifted. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said an unnamed tanker was "struck by an unknown projectile while transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz" on Saturday night, with all crew safe and no environmental impact reported. In a separate Saturday night incident, military authorities reported a tanker on fire in the strait, 8 nautical miles northwest of Khasab, Oman, forcing the crew to evacuate. The US says it is enforcing a naval blockade of Iran's Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman ports, while Iran claims control of the Strait of Hormuz. In Yemen, fighting has intensified between Saudi-backed forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have repeatedly hit Saudi military, oil and transport sites.