US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he believes Iran is seeking an agreement to avoid military confrontation, noting that the American naval presence near Iran is larger than the force he previously deployed during efforts to remove Venezuela’s leadership.
His comments came shortly after Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated that Tehran is willing to return to negotiations with Washington, provided the talks are fair and exclude Iran’s defensive and military capabilities.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the United States has dispatched a substantial naval force toward Iran.
“We have a very large armada — call it a flotilla, whatever you like — moving toward Iran right now. It’s even bigger than what we sent to Venezuela,” he said.
Trump added that a diplomatic outcome remained possible. “Hopefully we’ll reach a deal. If we do, that’s great. If not, we’ll see what happens.”
When asked whether Iran had been given a deadline to reach an agreement covering its nuclear programme, ballistic missiles and other concerns, Trump responded, “Only they know for sure,” adding that he had conveyed that message directly.
Responding to a question about reducing the US military presence in the region, Trump said the forces would remain deployed. “They have to be somewhere, so they might as well be near Iran,” he remarked.
Trump also pointed to what he described as Iran’s decision to stop executing protesters as a sign that Tehran was prepared to cooperate.
“I can say this much — they do want to make a deal,” he said.
However, the president refused to comment on whether he would consider a similar operation to the one in Venezuela — where US forces captured President Nicolás Maduro if talks with Iran failed.
“I don’t want to discuss anything related to military actions,” Tru
mp said.
