U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday aboard Air Force One, in response to a journalist asking whether he could provide an update on Iran and the final decision made regarding it: “I certainly can’t tell you, but we have very large, powerful ships heading that way.” Trump added that he hoped they would negotiate something acceptable.
In response to another question—referring to reports that Saudi Arabia’s defense minister had said the Iranian regime would become bolder if it were not attacked—Trump said: “Some people think that. Some people don’t.”
He added that it is possible to reach a negotiated agreement that eliminates nuclear weapons and other issues, saying, “They have to do that. But I don’t know if they will. However, they are talking to us—talking seriously.”
Trump also stated that the United States has reached an agreement with India regarding Venezuelan oil, so that India would purchase oil from Venezuela instead of buying it from the Islamic Republic of Iran. He also encouraged China to join a similar agreement.
Previously, Trump had said that he had conveyed two clear messages to the Islamic Republic: no nuclear weapons and no killing of protesters in Iran.
Regarding the imposition of tariffs on countries that trade with the Islamic Republic, Trump said that many things are happening, that a large fleet is moving toward Iran, and that many developments are possible. He added that Iran is in talks with the United States.
On Friday, Donald Trump announced that the United States has directly communicated its expectations to the Islamic Republic, stating that Iran knows exactly when its deadline is.
On Saturday, Trump also reposted a video showing Islamic Republic repression forces in the streets.
Speaking to a Fox News reporter on Saturday, the U.S. president said that disclosing any military plans regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran would be “almost as bad” as revealing them to the media.
He told Fox News: “Well, we can’t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling it to you—in fact, it could be even worse.”
Trump added: “But look, the plan is that [the Iranian government] talks to us, and we’ll see if we can do something. Otherwise, we’ll see what happens… We are sending a large fleet there—bigger than what we had in Venezuela, which we still have.”
Earlier last week, Trump announced that a large fleet, including the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, is heading toward Iran.
