The US defence secretary reiterated that the US hoped for a diplomatic solution to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, but if that failed, the military was prepared to “go in deep and do something big”.

U.S. and Iranian diplomats began indirect talks April 12 in Oman in an attempt to resolve Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the first, preliminary contacts in Oman as “productive” and a “good step,” AFP reported.

He said that while President Donald Trump hoped never to have to resort to a military option, “we have shown an ability to go far, go deep and go big.”

“Again, I repeat, we don't want to do it, but if we have to, we will do it to prevent a nuclear bomb from falling into the hands of Iran,” he said.

On April 9, Trump indicated that military action - jointly with Israel - was “absolutely” possible if the Oman talks collapsed.

"If it requires military action, we will have military action. Israel is obviously going to be very actively involved in that, going to be a leader of that," Trump stressed.

This followed a stark warning in late March that “if they don't make a deal, there will be bombing.”

In 2018, during his first term in the White House, Trump pulled the United States out of an earlier multinational nuclear agreement with Iran.

Analysts say Iran may now be just weeks away from producing a wearable nuclear weapon - though Tehran denies creating such weapons. | BGNES