TNA Staff
The New Arab / January 27, 2026
US deployment of its military in the Middle East signals an attack on Iran remains on the table regardless of attempts to de-escalate tensions.
London – Channels of communication remain open between Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Envoy Steve Witkoff as intensive efforts to de-escalate tensions persist, Iranian sources told The New Arab’s sister publication, Al-Araby al-Jadeed, although they are yet to yield any significant breakthrough.
It comes as US President Donald Trump was briefed that the government is “at its weakest point” since the ousting of the Shah in 1979, The New York Times reported that US intelligence handing the president a report that suggested that although an uprising had died down, Tehran “remains in a difficult position”.
The line from Tehran remains the same, with sources telling Al-Araby al-Jadeed that the response to any American attack, regardless of its scope, would not be limited, warning instead of a “full-scale war in the region”.
Groups backed by Iran in the region have since issues statements of their own.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said that the group would not remain “neutral” if the US decides to attack Tehran.
“When Trump threatens Imam Khamenei, he is threatening tens of millions who follow this leader”, Qassem said in a video televised as hundreds of people marched in southern Beirut in solidarity with Iran. “It is our duty to confront this threat with all necessary measures and preparedness”.
Likewise, in Iraq, Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-backed paramilitary group in the country, issued a statement late on Sunday warning of a “total war” if Iran is attacked.
The last time the group issued threats against the US and its bases in the region was when American forces joined Israel during the 12-day war with Iran.
Meanwhile, the US military continues its massive military deployment to the Middle East, with defense officials saying on Monday that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, alongside its guided-missile destroyers, had entered the region’s waters, while American bases near Iran have also been reinforced.
The UAE foreign ministry issued a statement saying it would not allow for its airspace or territorial waters to be used by the US military for actions against Iran, seemingly to want to remain “neutral” in the event of a regional war.
Amid this backdrop, Iranian stocks dropped for a third consecutive day on Monday, registering an 8.3 per cent decline in one week, according to the Financial Times.
US-based rights groups have put the death toll from the brutal repression of nationwide demonstrations in Iran at more than 6,000 people, adding that they were investigating over 17,000 other potential deaths.
