Feb. 4, 2026, 4:17 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump said Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, should be worried about a U.S. military building up in the region, and hinted at a new round of strikes if Tehran attempts to restart its nuclear program.
“I would say he should be very worried,” Trump said of Khamenei during an NBC News interview. “Yeah, he should be.”
Trump has been trading bellicose barbs with Khamenei for weeks and had threatened military action in response to a violent crackdown on protesters, in which the Iranian government is accused of killing thousands. He has also said the country needs “new leadership” and repeatedly talked up an “armada” of warships he’s deployed to the region.
Khamenei has hit back, accusing the U.S. of trying to “seize control” of the country. He said on Feb. 1 that any country that initiates war with Iran will “face a decisive blow” and warned that a conflict with America would become a regional war.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, this week for direct talks that could lay the groundwork an agreement between the two nations. Trump told reporters this week that he’d like to strike a deal with Tehran. “And if we can’t, probably bad things would happen,” he said on Feb. 2.
The U.S. president previously credited himself with preventing mass executions in Iran, and said in the NBC interview that he’d had protesters’ backs. He invoked U.S. strikes last summer on Iran’s nuclear facilities and said he’d been told Iran is trying to restart its nuclear program.
“We said, ‘You do that, we’re going to do very bad things to you,'” Trump added.
The remarks came after the U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone on Feb. 3 that U.S. Central Command said “aggressively” approached an American aircraft carrier “with unclear intent” around 500 miles off Iran’s southern coast. Iranian forces also “harassed” a U.S.-flagged merchant vessel with an American crew on board in the Strait of Hormuz in a separate incident hours later, Central Command said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said after the reported incidents that the scheduled talks between the U.S. and Iran were expected to go ahead.
Still, she said Trump maintains a range of options. “And that includes the use of military force,” Leavitt added.
The location of the talks between the U.S. and Iran was still being worked through on Wednesday, Feb. 4, with plans for a Feb. 6 meeting in Istanbul in flux.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a morning news conference in Washington that the U.S. wants to proceed. But for the talks to lead to a meaningful outcome, he said, Iran’s illicit ballistic missile program, support for U.S.-designated terrorist organizations and treatment of its citizens have to be part of the discussion.
“If the Iranians want to meet, we’re ready. They’ve expressed an interest in meeting and talking. If they change their mind, we’re fine with that, too,” Rubio said. “I’m not sure you can reach a deal with these guys, but we’re going to try to find out.”
Rubio said the president prefers a peaceful outcome to a military conflict with Iran.
Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman
