“We do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction,” Trump said.
“I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable.”
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he believes Iran is negotiating “seriously” with the United States, emphasizing his hope that the two sides can reach an “acceptable” agreement.
The remarks come as Trump reportedly weighs military options against Iran amid widespread protests in the country and a violent government crackdown.
Asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether he had decided to authorize a strike on Iran, the president declined to give a direct answer.
“I certainly can’t tell you that,” Trump said. He added, however, that the U.S. has already deployed significant naval power toward the region. “We do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction. I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable.”
The comments followed warnings from Iranian officials that Tehran would retaliate “with everything we have” if the United States launches an attack.
Trump avoided answering whether Iran might feel emboldened if Washington refrains from military action. “Some people think that. Some people don’t,” he said.
He reiterated that diplomacy remains his preferred outcome. “You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “They should do that. I don’t know that they will, but they are talking to us — seriously talking to us.”
Despite the buildup of U.S. naval forces in the region, Trump said the administration would not share military plans with Gulf allies while negotiations with Iran are ongoing.
In an interview Saturday with Fox News Channel White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, Trump explained that secrecy was essential. “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,” he said.
“But the plan right now 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 what we had, and still have, actually, in Venezuela.”
Meanwhile, tensions continued to escalate internationally. On Sunday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker announced that the Islamic Republic now considers all European Union militaries to be terrorist organizations. The statement followed the EU’s designation of Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group in response to Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests.
Iran cited a 2019 law to justify the move, the same statute it invoked after the United States labeled the Guard a terrorist organization that year.
The announcement, made by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf — a former Revolutionary Guard commander — came as Iran prepared to conduct live-fire military drills Sunday and Monday in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway serves as a critical chokepoint for global energy markets, with roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade passing through it.
If you want this rewritten in a more dramatic, more neutral wire-service, or more opinionated style, I can adapt it instantly.
