Trump keeps military action against Iran on the table while pushing for deal Interview with Axios

President Donald Trump has said the situation with Iran remains uncertain, describing it as “in flux” after the United States deployed a major naval force to the region, while insisting he believes Tehran is genuinely interested in reaching an agreement.

In an interview with Axios on January 26, Trump referred to the dispatch of a large military presence, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which entered the US Central Command area of responsibility the same day. He said the show of force was significant, calling it a “big armada” positioned near Iran, and even larger than the one sent to Venezuela.

The comments come after Trump earlier this month came close to ordering strikes on Iranian regime targets following the killing of thousands of protesters. Instead, he postponed the decision while moving additional military assets into the region. White House officials have said military action remains an option, although the protests inside Iran have largely been suppressed.

Sources familiar with the situation say the president has not yet made a final decision. Further consultations are expected this week, with additional military options to be presented, strengthened by the arrival of the carrier strike group.

While declining to discuss the specific plans put forward by his national security team, Trump stressed that diplomacy was still possible. He said Iran had reached out on several occasions and wanted to talk, adding that he was confident Tehran was seeking a deal.

Several hours after the interview, a senior US official echoed that message in a briefing with reporters, saying the White House remained open to negotiations. The official said Iran was well aware of Washington’s terms, which have been communicated repeatedly over the past year, and that talks could take place if Tehran chose to engage.

Behind the scenes, Trump’s advisers appear divided. More hawkish figures have urged him to enforce his own red line after he publicly promised to support protesters and punish the Iranian leadership. Others have questioned the effectiveness of bombing Tehran and have instead argued that the regime’s current weakness could be leveraged to secure a broader agreement.

According to US officials, any potential deal would require Iran to remove all enriched uranium from the country, limit its stockpile of long-range missiles, halt its support for regional proxy groups, and end independent uranium enrichment altogether. Iranian leaders have said they are willing to hold talks but have not indicated they would accept those conditions.

Trump also revisited last year’s brief conflict, known as the 12-day war, claiming Iran had been on the verge of launching a surprise missile attack on Israel. He said that by giving Israel approval to strike first, he had prevented what could have been a devastating assault. Trump argued that Iran’s military suffered heavy losses on the first day of fighting, including senior leaders and many of its missiles, and added that under a different US president, Iran would already possess nuclear weapons.

However, US and Israeli intelligence assessments before the conflict suggested that even if Iran decided to rush toward a nuclear weapon, it would take around two weeks to enrich enough weapons-grade uranium and between four and six months to build a basic nuclear device. While Iranian nuclear facilities were severely damaged in subsequent US and Israeli strikes, the full status of Tehran’s uranium stockpile remains unclear.

Meanwhile, the US military is preparing for the possibility of further orders from the president. Alongside the USS Abraham Lincoln, additional F-15 and F-35 fighter jets, refuelling aircraft and air defence systems have been deployed to the region.

Sources also said the commander of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, travelled to Israel on January 24 to coordinate military planning and potential joint defensive measures in the event of an Iranian attack on Israeli territory.