Trump says Iran wants deal, US ‘armada’ larger than in Venezuela raid

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Thursday he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal to avoid military action, adding that the US “armada” near Iran was bigger than the one he dispatched to topple Venezuela’s leader.

“We have a large armada, flotilla, call it whatever you want, heading toward Iran right now, even larger than what we had in Venezuela,” the Republican president told reporters in the Oval Office.

“Hopefully we’ll make a deal. If we do make a deal, that’s good. If we don’t make a deal, we’ll see what happens.”

READ MORE: Trump tells Iran to make nuclear deal or next attack will be ‘far worse’

Asked if he had given Iran a deadline to make a deal on its nuclear program, ballistic missiles and other issues, Trump said “yeah I have” but added that “only they know for sure” what it was.

Trump, however, cited what he said was Iran’s decision to halt executions of protesters – after a crackdown in which rights groups say more than 6,000 people were killed – as evidence to show Tehran was ready to comply.

“I can say this, they do want to make a deal,” Trump said.

Trump declined to say whether, if Iran did not reach a deal, he planned a repeat of the dramatic operation in Venezuela in which US forces captured president Nicolas Maduro.

“I don’t want to talk about anything having to do with what I’m doing militarily,” he said.