KEY POINTS
- Trump says Iran wants talks to “make a deal” despite rising tensions.
- US aircraft carrier strike group has deployed to the Middle East.
- US officials say Washington remains open to talks under set conditions.
- Iran has warned it will retaliate forcefully against any US strike.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has said that Iran still wanted talks to “make a deal,” as a US naval strike force led by an aircraft carrier was in Middle Eastern waters on Tuesday, with Tehran vowing to retaliate against any strike.
Washington has not ruled out new military intervention against Tehran over its crackdown on protests.
A strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln has now arrived in Middle Eastern waters, US Central Command said, without revealing its precise location.
Since the nationwide protests in Iran earlier this month, Trump has given mixed signals on intervention.
“We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela,” Trump told the Axios news site, weeks after the US military captured the Latin American nation’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
But he added, “They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk.”
According to Axios, Trump declined to discuss the options presented to him by his national security team, or which one he prefers.
US open to talks with Iran
Meanwhile, a senior US official said that the US is “open for business” if Iran chooses to reach out.
“I think they know the terms,” the official told reporters when asked about conditions for talks. “They’re aware of the terms,” the official said on condition of anonymity, according to Reuters.
The remarks come as the administration of Donald Trump maintains a dual-track approach of military intervention and diplomatic signalling toward Iran.
Last week, Trump said that the US had an “armada” heading toward Iran, while adding he hoped force would not be required.
He renewed warnings against Tehran over any move to restart its nuclear programme.
Trump said he had been informed that the “pace of killings” had subsided and that he believed there were currently no plans to carry out executions of prisoners linked to the unrest.
Widespread protests across Iran have eased in recent days after weeks of demonstrations against inflation and economic hardship.
Two US officials told Reuters on Monday that a US aircraft carrier and supporting warships have arrived in the Middle East, expanding Washington’s ability to defend its forces in the region or, if ordered, take military action against Iran.
Tehran has warned it would respond forcefully to any attack. “Iran will treat any strike as an all-out war against us,” a senior Iranian official said on Friday.
Iran warns of retaliation
The New York Times, meanwhile, reported that Trump has received multiple US intelligence reports “indicating that the Iranian government’s position is weakening”.
US Senator Lindsey Graham told the paper he had spoken with Trump in recent days about Iran and that “the goal is to end the regime”.
Tehran has in the past said a channel of communication is open between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff, despite the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
But the Hamshahri newspaper on Tuesday quoted Revolutionary Guards spokesman Mohammad Ali Naini as saying that “if their aircraft carrier made a mistake and entered Iranian territorial waters, it would be targeted”.
Meanwhile, Javan newspaper said Iran was “ready for a major response” and would seize the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key transit hub for energy supplies.
