President Trump says Iran wants a deal as a US aircraft carrier strike group arrives in Middle East waters amid tensions over Tehran’s protest crackdown.
PARIS: President Donald Trump said he believes Iran still wants talks as a US naval strike force led by an aircraft carrier arrived in Middle Eastern waters.
Washington has not ruled out new military intervention against Tehran over its crackdown on protests, which rights groups say killed thousands.
“We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela,” Trump told the Axios news site.
He added, “They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk.”
A strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln has now arrived in the region, US Central Command confirmed.
Trump gave mixed signals on intervention, which some opponents of Iran’s clerical leadership see as the only way to bring change.
Analysts say options include strikes on military facilities or targeted hits against the leadership.
The New York Times reported Trump has received multiple US intelligence reports indicating the Iranian government’s position is weakening.
US Senator Lindsey Graham told the paper he had spoken with Trump about Iran and that “the goal is to end the regime”.
Iranian officials have appeared wary of pouring oil on the fire in recent days.
Tehran has previously said a channel of communication is open between its foreign minister and a US envoy.
But a Revolutionary Guards spokesman was quoted as saying if the US carrier “entered Iranian territorial waters, it would be targeted”.
A conservative newspaper said Iran was “ready for a major response” and would seize the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
An anti-US billboard has appeared in Tehran showing an American aircraft carrier being destroyed.
Rights groups describe the crackdown as the deadliest ever against protests in Iran.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it confirmed 6,126 people were killed, including 5,777 protesters.
It added it was still investigating another 17,091 possible fatalities.
At least 41,880 people have been arrested, according to the group.
“Security agencies continue to pursue an approach centred on mass arrests, intimidation, and control of the narrative,” HRANA said.
Activists have accused authorities of raiding hospitals to find and arrest injured protesters.
A Persian-language TV channel based outside Iran said more than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces in early January.
It was not immediately possible to verify that report.
