Iran has threatened to target US-controlled sites in the Middle East during ongoing peace talks - as experts flagged a potential loophole on their pathway to forming nuclear weapons.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard promised 'heavy attacks' on American bases and ships in the region on Saturday night, while the president still awaits an answer for ongoing peace agreements to end the war.
'Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centers in the region and enemy ships,' the Iranian Revolutionary Guards said, per AFP.
Tehran's fresh warning comes just one day after the US attacked two Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
The countries have gone back and forth over dealings to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is a critical international passageway for Iran's oil exports.
American officials hoped the standoff would lead to the end of Iran's nuclear program, but experts have flagged a pathway through Tehran's massive plutonium supply.
According to nuclear weapons experts, Tehran's plutonium reserve holds enough material for more than 200 nuclear bombs.
United Against Nuclear Iran policy director Jason Brodsky told Fox Digital that the US must 'cover the plutonium pathway' in any negotiations.
As Trump awaits an answer from Iran amid peace talks, the country has threatened to attack US ships
The US is racing to stop Iran's nuclear program. Experts have said the country has enough plutonium to create 200 nuclear bombs
'I do believe any proposed deal with Iran needs to address the plutonium pathway to nuclear weapons. Israel struck the Arak heavy water reactor twice over the last year — in June 2025 and in March 2026,' he said.
'Intelligence suggested Iran had repeatedly attempted to reconstruct the facility even after the bombing, so any deal with Iran should cover the plutonium pathway.'
Nonproliferation Policy Education Center Executive Director Henry Sokolski explained that the US should closely monitor imports, exports and reactors in the port city of Bushehr.
'Pentagon should watch to make sure Iran does not remove any of the spent fuel at Bushehr,' he said. 'It could do this with space surveillance assets or, as it did in 2012, with drones.
'Second, any "peace" deal President Trump cuts with Tehran should include a requirement that there be near-real-time monitoring of the Bushehr reactor and spent fuel pond.'
A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox that Iran's 'nuclear program' is a 'threat to the United States and the entire world.'
'Iran today stands in breach of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations by failing to provide full cooperation with the IAEA,' they said.
'Iran’s leadership must engage in serious diplomatic negotiations with the United States to resolve the nuclear issue once and for all.'
In an effort to tamp down Iran's ability to acquire weapons altogether, the US imposed sanctions on Friday against ten of the country's top suppliers.
United Against Nuclear Iran policy director Jason Brodky encouraged the US to consider Iran's plutonium supply in any peace agreements
Experts advised that any peace negotiations should include careful monitoring of nuclear facilities in Bushehr
'While the surviving [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] leaders are trapped like rats in a sinking ship, the Treasury Department is unrelenting in our Economic Fury campaign,' said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a press release.
'Under President Trump's decisive leadership, we will continue to act to Keep America Safe and target foreign individuals and companies providing Iran's military with weapons for use against US forces.'
Trump claimed Friday that the White House was nearing a deal with Iran, and expected an answer from them that evening.
'We're getting a letter [from Iran] supposedly tonight, so we'll see how that goes,' he told reporters.
In response to speculation that the Middle Eastern country was intentionally dragging out the deal, the president said: 'I don't know. We'll find out soon.'
The countries agreed to a ceasefire last month, but US launched a round of 'self-defense' strikes against Iranian oil tankers on Friday as they attempted to port in the Gulf of Oman.
US Central Command said on Thursday that its forces intercepted an 'unprovoked' Iranian attack on three of its vessels as they transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman.
The US disabled multiple Iran oil tankers this week, though the president said the apprehensions were not in breach of the ceasefire
Iranian leaders have condemned the US's retaliatory actions.
'Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the US opts for a reckless military adventure,' Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said in a statement, the Daily Mail previously reported.
If peace talks fail to move forward, the president threatened to return to 'Project Freedom,' reported the New York Post.
The initiative, which was initially axed, would require US destroyers to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
'We may go back to Project Freedom if things don’t happen, but it’d be Project Freedom-plus, meaning Project Freedom plus other things,' he said.
The Daily Mail contacted the White House for comment.