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Hello and welcome to News Air from the BBC World Service. We're coming to you live from London.

Hello, I'm James Menendez. We are going to begin today with Iran. Is the United States on the brink of military action, or is there still a window for

diplomacy to diffuse the crisis? President Trump has said that more warships are heading to the region,

but added, it would be great if we didn't have to use them. Iran has vowed to retaliate in the

event of an attack, but today the foreign minister Abbas Arachi

told reporters his country was ready to talk to the US, but not under the threat of force.

The military attack or military intervention is not an alternative.

They did this last year in June, and this did not reach any result.

We do not have any problem pertaining to negotiations as the Islamic Republic of Iran,

but you do not start negotiations with threats.

If they want to negotiate with the fair and equitable understanding,

Islamic Republic of Iran has never left diplomacy aside,

and is not going to do so.

Mr. Raji, who was speaking through an interpreter, he was in Turkey, which was offered to mediate between the two sides. Washington says it wants Iran to dismantle its nuclear program once and

for all, Kerb its ballistic missile program, and to stop killing anti-government protesters.

This young man, he's 24, lives in Tehran and told us the US was their best hope of overthrowing the regime.

Understandably, he wants to keep his identity secret, so one of our producers has voiced up his message.

The situation in Tehran is really bad. There's no sign of the nightlife it used to have.

No one feels like going to a cafe or a restaurant. Shops and malls are empty, although it's

gradually getting better. Cinemas and theatres are empty. No concerts are taking place.

Even the street performers have stopped. Cafes are very empty and the prices have gone up too.

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