President Donald Trump said Saturday he believes Iran is negotiating « seriously » with the U.S., stressing that he hopes an « acceptable » deal can be brokered.
The president’s comments were made as he reportedly weighs options on a possible military strike on Iran amid widespread protests and a violent crackdown in the country.
When asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether he had decided on a strike against Iran, Trump responded, « I certainly can’t tell you that. »
« But we do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction, » he added. « I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable. »
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The president then sidestepped a question about whether Tehran would be emboldened if the U.S. opted not to launch strikes on Iran, saying, « Some people think that. Some people don’t. »
« You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons, » Trump said. « They should do that, but I don’t know that they will. But they are talking to us. Seriously talking to us. »
Trump has said the U.S. will not share military plans with Gulf allies while negotiating with Iran, even as U.S. naval forces surge into the region.
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Speaking with Fox News Channel senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich on Saturday, Trump said, « We can’t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan — it could be worse, actually. »
« But, look, the plan is that [Iran is] talking to us, and we’ll see if we can do something, » Trump continued. « Otherwise, we’ll see what happens. … We have a big fleet heading out there, bigger than we had — and still have, actually — in Venezuela. »
On Sunday, the speaker of Iran’s parliament said the Islamic Republic now considers all European Union militaries to be terrorist groups after the bloc declared the country’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terror group over its crackdown on nationwide protests.
Iran again invoked a 2019 law to declare other nations’ militaries terrorist groups following the United States’ designation of the Guard as a terror organization that year.
The announcement by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, comes as the Islamic Republic also planned live-fire military drills for Sunday and Monday in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade passes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source link : https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-iran-seriously-talking-us-military-ships-head-middle-east
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Publish date : 2026-02-01 09:21:00
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