Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a stark warning Wednesday that renewed American military action would trigger a conflict extending far beyond the Middle East, as diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff entered a critical phase with President Donald Trump signaling his patience was running thin.
The IRGC statement, published on its Sepah News website, declared that "if the aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will this time spread far beyond the region, and our devastating blows will crush you." The regime claimed it has not yet deployed "the full power of the Islamic revolution" despite what it called attacks by "the world's two most expensive armies."
Trump Sets Ultimatum for Deal
President Trump said Wednesday he was willing to wait "a few days" for the "right answer" from Iran, but emphasized talks were "right on the borderline." Trump told reporters, "It's right on the borderline, if we don't get the right answers, it goes very quickly," adding, "We're all ready to go." He specified that the United States must receive "complete 100% good answers" from Iran, stating the outcome "could be a few days, but it could go very quickly." Trump said the United States was now dealing with "people that are, I think, far more reasonable than the people that are really no longer with us."
The President also revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would do "whatever I want" regarding potential military strikes on Iran. Asked about a Tuesday phone call with Netanyahu, Trump said, "He's a very good man, he'll do whatever I want him to do. And he's a great guy… Don't forget he was a wartime prime minister." Trump had earlier told reporters that the war "will end very quickly" and said Tuesday he could wait "two or three days" or for "a limited period of time" after announcing he had canceled a strike planned for Tuesday.
Mediation Framework Takes Shape
According to Axios, during Tuesday's call Trump updated Netanyahu on new mediation efforts by several Arab and Muslim states to reach a deal between the United States and Iran. The emerging proposal was reportedly drafted by Qatar and Pakistan with input from regional mediators Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt. The framework would see Washington and Tehran sign a "letter of intent" that would officially end the war and open 30 days of negotiations on issues including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and limiting Iran's nuclear program, a US source involved in the phone call told Axios.
The two leaders disagreed on the path forward, with Netanyahu skeptical of the framework and believing the United States should continue applying military pressure on Iran to further weaken the regime by destroying its critical infrastructure, two Israeli sources said. The US source said Netanyahu's "hair was on fire after the call," while Israeli sources said Netanyahu "is always concerned" about how negotiations with Iran will go. The Prime Minister's Office and the White House declined to comment to Axios on the report.
Mediators had been working over the last several days to bridge gaps on the last Pakistani proposal, and Qatar recently presented the United States and Iran with a new draft, according to two Arab sources and an Israeli source. A fourth Qatari source said there is no separate draft from Qatar and that Doha is only aiming to improve the Pakistani draft. The current efforts aim to secure stronger commitments from the Iranians regarding limiting their nuclear program and better guarantees from the United States to gradually unfreeze Iranian funds kept abroad. Qatar sent a delegation to Tehran earlier this week for talks on the latest draft, as did Pakistan, while Iran's Tasnim news agency claimed the United States had submitted a new proposal via Pakistani mediators and that Tehran was reviewing the text.
Regional Security Concerns Mount
US Vice President JD Vance told reporters Tuesday that "a lot of good progress is being made" in efforts to reach a deal, adding, "We're just going to keep working at it." At the same time, he warned Iran that the US military was "locked and loaded." On Tuesday, the US Senate advanced a war powers resolution, as a fourth Republican joined Democrats in their efforts to assert authority over the conflict, though support for passing the measure remained short of a majority.
Pakistan's interior minister headed to Iran on Wednesday for the second time this week, Iranian state media reported. Iran's official IRNA news agency said, citing diplomatic sources in Islamabad, that "Mohsin Naqvi traveled to Tehran to meet officials from the Islamic Republic." Pakistan has been mediating between Iran and the United States, with Naqvi previously in Tehran on Saturday to "facilitate" the process, according to Iranian media.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said further hostilities in the Middle East would be "inadvisable," calling for a ceasefire as he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, according to Chinese state media. Xinhua reported Xi as saying, "A comprehensive ceasefire is of utmost urgency, resuming hostilities is even more inadvisable and maintaining negotiations is particularly important."
Turkey said Wednesday that Germany would send it a Patriot missile defense system for a six-month deployment from June to replace a system deployed as part of NATO measures in southeast Turkey to bolster air defenses. In March, Ankara said a US Patriot system was deployed to southeast Turkey, near a NATO radar base, in the face of missile threats from Iran. NATO defenses shot down four ballistic missiles launched from Iran during the war. The Turkish Defense Ministry said, "In addition to the Spanish Patriot air defense system currently deployed in our country, one of the two additional Patriot systems deployed by NATO due to the conflicts between the US, Israel, and Iran will be replaced by a German system."
Jordan announced it had shot down a drone of unknown origin in its airspace on Wednesday, with no casualties reported. The Jordanian Armed Forces said, "This morning, the Jordanian Armed Forces engaged with a drone of unknown origin that entered Jordanian airspace and was brought down in Jerash Governorate, without any injuries." Jerash Governorate is around 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, north of the capital Amman. Although the Iran ceasefire has mostly held, drones have lately been launched from Iraq toward Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, apparently by Iran's allies.
Trump and Netanyahu said they launched the war in late February to curb Iran's support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear program, destroy its missile capabilities, and create conditions for Iranians to topple their rulers. Iran responded by firing on Israel, US forces and neighboring Mideast countries. The regime also seized control of the Strait of Hormuz, and the United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ships and ports. The war has yet to deprive Iran of its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, though the United States and Israel have said it will be removed from the country by force if not through a deal. The Islamic Republic's clerical leadership, which had faced a mass uprising at the start of the year, has so far withstood the onslaught.
Why This Matters:
The standoff with Iran poses fundamental questions about American national security interests and the limits of diplomatic engagement with hostile regimes. Iran's continued enrichment of near-weapons-grade uranium represents a direct threat to regional stability and global energy markets, particularly given the regime's seizure of the Strait of Hormuz through which significant oil supplies transit. The administration's willingness to pursue diplomatic solutions while maintaining credible military pressure reflects a pragmatic approach to preventing nuclear proliferation without committing to indefinite conflict. However, the regime's threats to expand the war globally underscore the risks of negotiating with a government that continues supporting regional militias and threatening American allies. The outcome will test whether economic pressure and military deterrence can compel meaningful concessions from Tehran, or whether only sustained force can eliminate the nuclear threat and restore freedom of navigation through critical waterways.