Iran wants deal, US 'armada' bigger than Venezuela raid — Trump
Trump declines to say whether he would repeat a Venezuela-style operation if Iran fails to reach a deal.
President Donald Trump has said that Tehran wants to make a deal to avoid military action, adding that the US "armada" near Iran was bigger than the one he dispatched to abduct 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 on Friday.
"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."
Asked if he had given Iran a deadline to make a deal on its nuclear programme, 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 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 abudcted president Nicolas Maduro.
"I don't want to talk about anything having to do with what I'm doing militarily," he said.