THE MIDDLE East remained on the knife edge of another horrific war today as a US warship docked off the coast of Israel in the morning, one of an “armada” Washington has deployed to threaten Iran.

Iranian officials said there were no planned meetings with US officials.

Israeli media reported today that the USS Delbert D Black, one of the US Navy’s most advanced destroyers, had docked in the southern port of Eilat.

The Israeli military told reporters that the ship’s arrival was “routine and pre-planned” and part of an ongoing co-operation with the US.

Earlier this week, one of the US’s 11 aircraft carriers, the USS Abraham Lincoln, was redirected from the South China Sea and entered Middle Eastern waters, according to news reports.

The USS Delbert D Black’s arrival to the region comes after US President Donald Trump warned Iran that a “massive armada” was heading its way.

On Wednesday, he threatened the government with an attack “far worse” than the unprovoked attacks he launched in June with Israel.

“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS,” Mr Trump wrote on social media earlier this week.

In his first term Mr Trump tore up the international agreement on Iran’s civil nuclear programme.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Turkey today, meeting his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.

Mr Araghchi told reporters that his country was ready to return to negotiations with the US, but not under threat.

“We will never give up diplomacy,” he said. “We are ready for fair and equitable negotiations,” but, he added, “the Islamic Republic of Iran, just as it is ready for negotiations, it is also ready for war.”

He said there were currently no meetings planned for talks with US officials.

Mr Fidan said Turkey was “against resorting to military options to solve problems, and we do not believe that this will be very effective.

“We advocate for negotiation and diplomacy.”

Iranian media said today that President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UAE’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that his country will respond immediately and ⁠decisively to any US or Israeli aggression.

Meanwhile, in response to the EU designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation and sanctioning many of its officials, Iran said it plans to do the same with EU countries’ armed forces.