US and Iran slide towards conflict as military buildup eclipses talks

US firepower eclipses stalled Iran-US nuclear talksWashington and Tehran head towards potential showdownTrump boxed in by his own show of force, officials sayDUBAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Iran and the United States are sliding rapidly towards military conflict as hopes fade for a diplomatic solution to their standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme, officials on both sides and diplomats across the Gulf and Europe say.Iran’s Gulf neighbours and its enemy Israel now consider a conflict to be more likely than a settlement, these sources say, with Washington building up one of its biggest military deployments in the region since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Israel’s government believes Tehran and Washington are at an impasse and is making preparations for possible joint military action with the United States, though no decision has been made yet on whether to carry out such an operation, said a source familiar with the planning.It would be the second time the U.S. and Israel have attacked Iran in less than a year, following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against military and nuclear facilities last June.

Regional officials say oil-producing Gulf countries are preparing for a possible military confrontation that they fear could spin out of control and destabilise the Middle East.Two Israeli officials told Reuters they believe the gaps between Washington and Tehran are unbridgeable and that the chances of a near‑term military escalation are high.Some regional officials say Tehran is dangerously miscalculating by holding out for concessions, with U.S. President Donald Trump boxed in by his own military buildup – unable to scale it back without losing face if there is no firm commitment from Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.

Both sides are sticking to their guns,” said Alan Eyre, a former U.S. diplomat and Iran specialist, adding that nothing meaningful can emerge “unless the U.S. and Iran walk back from their red lines – which I don’t think they will.””What Trump can’t do is assemble all this military, and then come back with a ‘so‑so’ deal and pull out the military. I think he thinks he’ll lose face,” he said. “If he attacks, it’s going to get ugly quickly.”