Trump says Iran wants deal as US sends larger naval force

US President Donald Trump said that Iran is seeking to reach an agreement with Washington, making the remarks at the White House while commenting on the state of talks with Tehran.

“We have a large armada flotilla. You can call it whatever you want. Heading toward Iran right now, even larger than what we had in Venezuela. It's still in front of Venezuela. We're now sending actually a larger number of ships to Iran and hopefully we'll make a deal,” the US president said.

Trump added that reaching an agreement would be a positive outcome, saying, “If we do make a deal, that's good. If we don't make a deal, we'll see what happens. But this is going to be exciting.”

The US president had warned Tehran on January 28 that time was "running out" to negotiate a deal on its nuclear program after a large US naval fleet had gathered near the country.

Iran's foreign minister said there were no talks planned with the US at present but that Tehran was open to negotiations based on "mutual respect" and trust.

Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and has repeatedly denied accusations by the US and its allies that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

By Vafa Guliyeva