President Donald Trump said Friday he believes Tehran wants to reach an agreement to avoid military action, saying the U.S. naval presence near Iran is larger than the force he previously dispatched to Venezuela.
"We have a large armada, flotilla, call it whatever you want, heading toward Iran right now, even larger than what we had in Venezuela," the president told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump said he remains open to a diplomatic resolution with Tehran.
"Hopefully we'll make a deal," he said. "If we do make a deal, that's good. If we don't make a deal, we'll see what happens."
Asked whether he had given Iran a deadline to reach an agreement on its nuclear program, ballistic missiles and other issues, Trump responded that he had.
"Yeah, I have," he said, adding that "only they know for sure" what is the deadline.
Trump's comments follow widespread civil unrest in Iran, where protests have erupted across the country against the hardline regime.
Human rights groups say the government has responded with a sweeping crackdown, claiming more than 6,000 people have been killed as security forces moved to suppress demonstrations.
The president has repeatedly warned Iran's leadership against using force on protesters, saying the United States would hold senior officials accountable if violence continued.
Trump has publicly threatened to strike Iran's leadership if it escalated its response against civilians, framing the issue as both a human rights crisis and a broader challenge to regional stability.
He pointed to what he said was Iran's decision to halt the hangings of 800 protesters as evidence the administration's pressure campaign was working.
"I can say this, they do want to make a deal," he said.
The president declined to say whether he would pursue military action if a deal is not reached, including whether he would repeat the military operation in Venezuela in which U.S. forces captured dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
When pressed to provide further detail on his Iranian strategy, Trump demurred.
"I don't want to talk about anything having to do with what I'm doing militarily," he said.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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