Iran and the United States begin high-stakes talks to reach a new nuclear deal on Saturday foreshadowed by President Trump’s threat of military strikes as a consequence of failure and Tehran’s warning any attack on it would drag the US into another Middle Eastern conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday repeated his threat to use military force if Iran did not agree to end its nuclear program, saying Israel would play a key role in any military action.

In a sign of the difficult road ahead for negotiators, the White House reiterated Trump’s threat on Friday, saying he wants Iran to know there will be ‘all hell to pay’ if it does not agree to abandon its nuclear programme.