President Donald Trump told the news outlet Axios in an interview on Monday that the situation with Iran is “in flux” because he sent a “big armada” to the region but he claims that Tehran genuinely wants to cut a deal. “We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela,” Trump said.
He declined to discuss the options for military action presented to him by his national security team, or which one he prefers. At the same time, he said diplomacy remained an option. “They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk.”
A senior U.S. official said in a briefing with reporters several hours after Trump spoke to Axios that the White House “is open for business” when it comes to negotiations with Iran. “If they want to contact us and they know what the terms are, then we’re going to have the conversation,” the U.S. official said.
Without naming names, Axios goes into the divide among Trump’s team over whether or not the US should bomb Iran. Some more hawkish members of Trump’s circle have urged him to enforce his own red line after he promised to help the protesters and punish the regime, Axios continues, while others have questioned what bombing Tehran would actually achieve, and are more intrigued by the idea of using the regime’s weakness to push for a deal.
U.S. officials say any deal would have to include the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran, a cap on Iran’s stockpile of long-range missiles, a change in Iran’s policy of supporting proxies in the region and a ban on independent uranium enrichment in the country. Iran has long made it clear, however, that it will not accept such a deal.
