The NYT reported on attempts by US allies to convince Trump not to strike Iran.

For several weeks now, US allies in the Middle East have been trying to convince American leader Donald Trump not to strike Iran in order to avoid an escalation of the conflict in the region. This was reported on January 28 by The New York Times (NYT).

"US allies in the region have been trying to reduce tensions for several weeks since Trump first threatened military intervention in connection with Tehran's crackdown on protests in Iran," the publication says.

The NYT noted that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has not spoken with Trump's special envoy Stephen Witkoff in recent days, and Tehran has not requested a new round of talks with the United States. However, according to the newspaper, other countries have been trying to mediate the conflict in recent weeks.

The Middle East is on edge: what will the escalation between the United States and Iran lead to?

Experts consider the risk of a large-scale escalation to be extremely high

On the same day, Trump wrote that the next US attack on Iran would be worse for Tehran than the strikes in the summer of 2025. According to him, a "huge armada" is moving towards Iran, surpassing in scale the fleet previously sent by the United States to the shores of Venezuela.

The Permanent Mission of Iran to the United Nations (UN) said on January 28 that Iran is ready to conduct a dialogue with the United States, but if necessary, the Islamic Republic will defend itself and give an appropriate response.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said later that day that the United States was allowing a preemptive military operation against Iran and would continue to build up forces in the Middle East. According to him, "as a result of certain events," Iran may attack the US troops that are present in the region.

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