Tehran prepares counterproposal as Trump weighs strikes

By Steve Holland, Bo Erickson and Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister said on Friday he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days following nuclear talks this week as U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.

Asked if he was considering a limited strike to pressure Iran into a deal on its nuclear program, Trump told reporters at the White House, “I guess I can say I am considering" it.

Two U.S. officials told Reuters that U.S. military planning on Iran has reached an advanced stage, with options including targeting individuals as part of an attack and even pursuing leadership change in Tehran, if ordered by Trump.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in an interview earlier on Friday on MS NOW, said his draft counterproposal could be ready in the next two or three days for top Iranian officials to review, with more U.S.-Iran talks possible in a week or so.

Military action would complicate efforts to reach a deal, he added.

TRUMP GAVE DEADLINE

On Thursday, Trump gave Tehran a deadline of 10-15 days to make a deal or face "really bad things" amid a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East that has fueled fears of a wider war. 

Araqchi gave no specific timing as to when Iranians would get their counterproposal to U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but said he believed a diplomatic deal was within reach and could be achieved "in a very short period of time."

During talks in Geneva this week, the United States did not seek zero uranium enrichment and Iran did not offer to suspend enrichment, he told MS NOW, a U.S. cable television news network.

"We have not offered any suspension and the U.S. side has not asked for zero enrichment," Araqchi said. "What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran's nuclear program, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever."

He added that technical and political "confidence-building measures" would be enacted to ensure the program would remain peaceful in exchange for action on sanctions, but he gave no further details.

“The president has been clear that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons or the capacity to build them, and that they cannot enrich uranium,” the White House said when asked about Araqchi's comments.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, Bo Erickson, Susan Heavey, additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Rod Nickel)