Iran-US sabre-rattling continues after Trump 'halted' strikes

Iran said on Saturday it would respond firmly to any US threat against it, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, amid escalating tension between Tehran and Washington over the downing of an unmanned US drone by Tehran, and US warning Iran would face "obliteration" in the event of a war.

"Regardless of any decision, they (US officials) make... we will not allow any of Iran's borders to be violated. Iran will firmly confront any aggression or threat by America," foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told Tasnim.

"Any mistake by Iran's enemies, in particular, America and its regional allies, would be like firing at a powder keg that will burn America, its interests and its allies to the ground," the senior spokesman of Iran's Armed Forces, Abolfazl Shekarchi, told Tasnim on Saturday.

"Today, the situation in the region is to Iran's advantage.

"If the enemy –– especially America and its allies in the region –– make the military mistake of shooting the powder keg on which America's interests lie, the region will be set on fire," Shekarchi warned.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said he will impose additional sanctions against Iran in an effort to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, adding that military action was still a possibility.

Trump was speaking to reporters at the White House.

"We are putting major additional Sanctions on Iran on Monday," Trump tweeted, while adding: "I look forward to the day that Sanctions come off Iran, and they become a productive and prosperous nation again - The sooner the better!"

TRT World's Correspondent Alican Ayanlar is in Tehran with the latest.

Trump warns Iran of 'obliteration'

On Thursday, an Iranian missile destroyed a US Global Hawk surveillance drone. 

Tehran said the drone was shot down over its territory and Washington said it had occurred in international airspace.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he aborted a military strike to retaliate for Iran's downing of the US drone because it could have killed 150 people, and signalled he was open to talks with Tehran.

In an interview with NBC, Trump said he does not want war but warned Iran it would face "obliteration" in the event of a war.

Worries about a confrontation between Iran and the United States have mounted despite Trump saying that he has no appetite to go to war with Iran. Tehran has also said it is not seeking a war but has warned of a "crushing" response if attacked.

A senior Arab diplomat said the sharply increased tensions would further harm the crisis-hit Middle East region.

"De-escalation is very important because tempers are flaring... It's very important we avoid confrontation right now," the senior diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. 

"Confrontation, whatever we think about Trump or Iran, will be disastrous for everyone."

Also on Saturday, Iran's foreign ministry summoned a United Arab Emirates envoy to complain about the UAE allowing a US drone it shot down on Thursday to be launched from a US military base on its territory, the Fars news agency reported.

There was no immediate comment from the UAE. 

Airlines avoiding Iran airspace

The US Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday issued an emergency order prohibiting US operators from flying in an oversea area of Tehran-controlled airspace over the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. 

Some other international airlines are taking related precautions.

But Iran said on Saturday its airspace was "safe and secure" for all planes to cross, Tasnim reported.

"Iran-controlled airspace over the Persian Gulf and other flight routes are completely safe," its spokesman, Reza Jafarzadeh, was quoted as saying.

The United States and Iran's main regional rival Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers last week in the Gulf of Oman and on four tankers off the United Arab Emirates on May 12, both near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a major conduit for global oil supplies.

Iran has denied any involvement in those incidents.

UK, Iran talks

Britain's Foreign Office said Middle East minister Andrew Murrison would raise concerns about "Iran's regional conduct and its threat to cease complying with the nuclear deal" during a visit to Tehran on Sunday.

Tensions began to worsen significantly when Trump unilaterally pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six powers and reimposed sanctions on the country. The sanctions had been lifted under the pact in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear programme.

Iran has threatened to breach the deal if the European signatories to the deal fail to salvage it by shielding Tehran from U.S. sanctions.

"The Europeans will not be given more time beyond July 8 to save the deal," Mousavi said, referring to Iran's deadline of 60 days that Tehran announced in May.

Iran part of G-20 discussion 

The international community must seek a political solution on Iran, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday.

Speaking at an annual gathering of Protestant churches, Merkel also said the Iran issue would be discussed at next week's meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies in Japan, at least at a bilateral level.

"There has to be a political solution (on Iran) and that is what we are working on," Merkel said.

Iran shares coordinates of downed drone

Later on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted a map with detailed coordinates which he said show a US drone shot down by Iran on Thursday was within the Islamic Republic's territorial waters.

The map also showed two yellow squares on the flight path of the drone which, according to the map, indicate Iranian radio warnings sent to the drone.

"There can be no doubt about where the vessel was when it was brought down," Zarif wrote.