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Russian Ambassador to Washington Says US-Russia Relations in ‘Ice Age’

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov arrives for a news briefing on the situation in Syria, at the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, October 7, 2016. (Reuters)
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov arrives for a news briefing on the situation in Syria, at the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, October 7, 2016. (Reuters)
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Russian Ambassador to Washington Says US-Russia Relations in ‘Ice Age’

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov arrives for a news briefing on the situation in Syria, at the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, October 7, 2016. (Reuters)
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov arrives for a news briefing on the situation in Syria, at the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, October 7, 2016. (Reuters)

Russia's ambassador to the United States on Friday compared the state of US-Russia relations to an "ice age", and said that the risk of a clash between the two countries was "high", Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.

TASS cited Anatoly Antonov as saying that it was hard to say when talks on strategic dialogue between the two sides could resume, but that talks on prisoner swaps had been "effective" and would continue.

US-Russia ties have fallen to their lowest point in decades amid the fallout from Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, and the consequent imposition of Western sanctions.

Two prisoner swaps, in which US Marine veteran Trevor Reed and basketball star Brittney Griner were freed by Russia in return for convicted drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko and arms dealer Viktor Bout, were rare instances of successful US-Russia diplomacy in 2022.

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Iran President Says Trump, Netanyahu, Europe Stirred Tensions in Recent Protests

HANDOUT - 31 December 2025, Iran, Tehran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian chairs a cabinet meeting in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
HANDOUT - 31 December 2025, Iran, Tehran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian chairs a cabinet meeting in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
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Iran President Says Trump, Netanyahu, Europe Stirred Tensions in Recent Protests

HANDOUT - 31 December 2025, Iran, Tehran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian chairs a cabinet meeting in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
HANDOUT - 31 December 2025, Iran, Tehran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian chairs a cabinet meeting in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that US ⁠President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu and Europe had stirred tensions in the recent protests that gripped ⁠the country and "provoked" people.

Trump predicted on Friday that Iran would seek to negotiate a deal rather than face American military action, despite Tehran warning that its arsenal of missiles would never be up for discussion.

"I can say this, they do want to make a deal," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Asked if he had given Iran a deadline to enter talks on its nuclear and missile programs, Trump said "yeah, I have," but refused to say what it was.

"We have a large armada, flotilla, call it whatever you want, heading toward Iran right now," Trump said, referring to a US naval carrier group in waters off Iran.

"Hopefully we'll make a deal. If we do make a deal, that's good. If we don't make a deal, we'll see what happens."

Trump cited what he said was Iran's decision to halt the executions of protesters -- after a crackdown in which rights groups say more than 6,000 people were killed -- as evidence to show Tehran was ready to negotiate.

World

CENTCOM to Iran: We Will Not Tolerate Unsafe IRGC Actions

This handout image from the US Navy shows Capt. Daniel Keeler, the commanding officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as he prepares to fly an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter in the Indian Ocean on Jan. 23, 2026. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman/US Navy via AP)
This handout image from the US Navy shows Capt. Daniel Keeler, the commanding officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as he prepares to fly an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter in the Indian Ocean on Jan. 23, 2026. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman/US Navy via AP)
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CENTCOM to Iran: We Will Not Tolerate Unsafe IRGC Actions

This handout image from the US Navy shows Capt. Daniel Keeler, the commanding officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as he prepares to fly an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter in the Indian Ocean on Jan. 23, 2026. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman/US Navy via AP)
This handout image from the US Navy shows Capt. Daniel Keeler, the commanding officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as he prepares to fly an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter in the Indian Ocean on Jan. 23, 2026. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman/US Navy via AP)

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has warned Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) not to make any “unsafe” behavior near American forces in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is conducting a two-day live-fire naval exercise in the Strait scheduled to begin on Sunday.

“CENTCOM urges the IRGC to conduct the announced naval exercise in a manner that is safe, professional and avoids unnecessary risk to freedom of navigation for international maritime traffic,” it said in a statement on Friday.

“The Strait of Hormuz is an international sea passage and an essential trade corridor that supports regional economic prosperity. On any given day, roughly 100 of the world’s merchant vessels transit the narrow strait,” it said.

While acknowledging Iran’s right to operate professionally in international airspace and waters, it said that “any unsafe and unprofessional behavior near US forces, regional partners or commercial vessels increases risks of collision, escalation, and destabilization.”

CENTCOM also stressed that it “will not tolerate unsafe IRGC actions including overflight of US military vessels engaged in flight operations, low-altitude or armed overflight of US military assets when intentions are unclear, highspeed boat approaches on a collision course with US military vessels, or weapons trained at US forces.”

World

Trump Says Iran Wants Deal, US ‘Armada’ Larger Than in Venezuela Raid

US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, USA, 30 January 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, USA, 30 January 2026. (EPA)
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Trump Says Iran Wants Deal, US ‘Armada’ Larger Than in Venezuela Raid

US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, USA, 30 January 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, USA, 30 January 2026. (EPA)

President Donald Trump said Thursday he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal to avoid military action, adding that the US "armada" near Iran was bigger than the one he dispatched to topple Venezuela's leader.

"We have a large armada, flotilla, call it whatever you want, heading toward Iran right now, even larger than what we had in Venezuela," the Republican president told reporters in the Oval Office.

"Hopefully we'll make a deal. If we do make a deal, that's good. If we don't make a deal, we'll see what happens."

Asked if he had given Iran a deadline to make a deal on its nuclear program, ballistic missiles and other issues, Trump said "yeah I have" but added that "only they know for sure" what it was.

Trump, however, cited what he said was Iran's decision to halt executions of protesters -- after a crackdown in which rights groups say more than 6,000 people were killed -- as evidence to show Tehran was ready to comply.

"I can say this, they do want to make a deal," Trump said.

Trump declined to say whether, if Iran did not reach a deal, he planned a repeat of the dramatic operation in Venezuela in which US forces captured president Nicolas Maduro.

"I don't want to talk about anything having to do with what I'm doing militarily," he said.