Donald Trump has said Iran is \u201ctalking to\u201d the US and hinted at a deal to avoid the use of military strikes.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Iran is] talking to us, and we\u2019ll see if we can do something, otherwise we\u2019ll see what happens \u2026 We have a big fleet heading out there,\u201d he told Fox News. \u201cThey are negotiating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump added that US allies in the region were not being told of plans for possible strikes due to security reasons. He has threatened to intervene in Iran in the wake of a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, we can\u2019t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan \u2013 it could be worse, actually,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Washington has deployed a naval battle group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier off Iran\u2019s shores, after Trump threatened to intervene in response to a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.<\/p>\n
In remarks made later on Saturday, Trump declined to say whether he\u2019d made a decision on what he wanted to do regarding Iran.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters as he flew to Florida, Trump sidestepped a question about whether Tehran would be emboldened if the US backed away from launching any strikes on Iran, saying: \u201cSome people think that. Some people don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donald Trump speaks to reporters after landing in Florida. Photograph: Al Drago\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Trump said Iran should negotiate a \u201csatisfactory\u201d deal to prevent the country from getting any nuclear weapons but said: \u201cI don\u2019t know that they will. But they are talking to us. Seriously talking to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Qatar in a statement said premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani visited Tehran on Saturday and met with Larijani about \u201cefforts to de-escalate tensions in the region\u201d.<\/p>\n
The announcements came with Washington\u2019s naval battle group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier off Iran\u2019s shores, after Trump threatened to intervene in the wake of a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.<\/p>\n
The arrival of the flotilla has raised fears of a direct confrontation with Iran, which has warned it would respond with missile strikes on US bases, ships and allies \u2013 notably Israel \u2013 in the event of an attack.<\/p>\n
But Trump has said he believes Iran will prefer to make a deal over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face American military action \u2013 and Tehran has said it is ready for nuclear talks if its missiles and defence capabilities are not on the agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cContrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing,\u201d said Ali Larijani, head of Iran\u2019s supreme national security council, a day after the Kremlin said Larijani held talks in Moscow with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Saturday said a broader conflict would hurt both Iran and the US.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought, and in no way seeks, war and it is firmly convinced that a war would be in the interest of neither Iran, nor the United States, nor the region,\u201d he said in a call with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, according to the Iranian presidency.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s army chief, Amir Hatami, had earlier warned the US and Israel against any attack, saying his forces were \u201cat full defensive and military readiness\u201d to respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime,\u201d Hatami said, according to the official news agency IRNA.<\/p>\n
He said Iran\u2019s nuclear technology and expertise \u201ccannot be eliminated\u201d.<\/p>\n
With tensions heightened, Iranian authorities rushed to deny that several incidents on Saturday were linked to any attack or sabotage, including an explosion in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas that local firefighters said was caused by a gas leak.<\/p>\n
On Friday, US Central Command said the Revolutionary Guards would conduct \u201ca two-day live-fire naval exercise\u201d in the strait of Hormuz, a key transit hub for global energy supplies.<\/p>\n
In a statement, US Central Command warned Iran against \u201cany unsafe and unprofessional behaviour near US forces\u201d.<\/p>\n
It drew criticism from Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.<\/p>\n
\u201cOperating off our shores, the US military<\/a> is now attempting to dictate how our Powerful Armed Forces should conduct target practice in their own turf,\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n