Iran finds China, Russia offer limited help under US pressure - WSJ

The United States is in position for a “highly kinetic” military campaign against Iran after a major buildup of forces in the Middle East, former senior Pentagon official Dana Stroul told Fox News Digital.

“The US military is ready for a sustained, highly kinetic campaign should President Trump order it, and also prepared to defend allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran’s missiles,” said Stroul, now research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

She said the deployment of two aircraft carriers, including the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS Abraham Lincoln, along with additional destroyers, fighter aircraft, refueling planes and air defenses, had expanded US offensive and defensive capabilities compared with strikes carried out in June 2025.

“It is not a question of military readiness, but a political decision,” she said, adding that any action would depend on orders from President Donald Trump.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called for a diplomatic solution on Iran on Monday ahead of expected talks between Tehran and Washington, as US President Donald Trump has threatened possible strikes.

“We don't need another war in this region. We already have a lot,” Kallas said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

She said Iran was at a weak point and that the moment should be used to seek a diplomatic outcome.

Oil prices may surge as the United States and Iran appear to be heading toward war, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing energy consultant Fereidun Fesharaki.

“I don’t think the US has a choice but to go to war,” Fesharaki, chairman emeritus of FGE NexantECA, told Bloomberg TV. “It is very hard for me to see a scenario that they would just avoid this, and turn the ships around and go home.”

He said prices of $90 to $100 a barrel were “within reach,” depending on the severity of any disruption, pointing to risks to crude flows from the region and the possibility Iran could seek to block the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran does not confirm any speculation about a possible interim agreement with the United States, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday ahead of talks planned in Geneva on Thursday.

“We do not confirm any speculation,” Baghaei said, according to state media.

He also said Iran would not accept any notion of surrender. “We have nothing to do with surrender, and this is also in conflict with international law,” he said, adding that Tehran remained determined to pursue a diplomatic path.

Baghaei denied that a visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency to damaged nuclear facilities was being set as a precondition for talks with Washington.

Iran has signaled it is prepared to make concessions on its nuclear program in talks with the United States in return for sanctions relief and recognition of its right to enrich uranium, as it seeks to avert a US attack, Reuters reported, citing a senior Iranian official.

Tehran would seriously consider sending half of its most highly enriched uranium abroad, diluting the rest and taking part in creating a regional enrichment consortium, the Iranian official said according to Reuters.

Iran would do so in return for US recognition of its right to “peaceful nuclear enrichment” under a deal that would also include lifting economic sanctions, the official said.

In addition, Iran has offered openings for US companies to participate as contractors in Iran’s oil and gas industries, the official said.

“Within the economic package under negotiation, the United States has also been offered opportunities for serious investment and tangible economic interests in Iran’s oil industry,” Reuters quoted the official as saying.

Araghchi earlier said Iran would not “capitulate,” responding to US envoy Steve Witkoff’s remarks that President Donald Trump was “curious” why Tehran had not capitulated under mounting US pressure.