Trump says Iran 'seriously talking to us' as military ships head to Middle East

By Fox News · Fox News

President Donald Trump said Saturday he believes Iran is negotiating "seriously" with the U.S., stressing that he hopes an "acceptable" deal can be brokered. The president's comments were made as he reportedly weighs options on a possible military strike on Iran amid widespread protests and a violent crackdown in the country. When asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether he had decided on a strike against Iran, Trump responded, "I certainly can't tell you that." "But we do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction," he added. "I hope they negotiate something that's acceptable." IRAN WILL RETALIATE 'WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE' IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS The president then sidestepped a question about whether Tehran would be emboldened if the U.S. opted not to launch strikes on Iran, saying, "Some people think that. Some people don’t." "You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons," Trump said. "They should do that, but I don't know that they will. But they are talking to us. Seriously talking to us." Trump has said the U.S. will not share military plans with Gulf allies while negotiating with Iran, even as U.S. naval forces surge into the region. TRUMP SAYS IRAN CALLED 'NUMEROUS' TIMES TO MAKE DEAL AS CARRIER ENTERS MIDDLE EAST WATERS Speaking with Fox News Channel senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich on Saturday, Trump said, "We can’t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan — it could be worse, actually." "But, look, the plan is that [Iran is] talking to us, and we’ll see if we can do something," Trump continued. "Otherwise, we’ll see what happens. … We have a big fleet heading out there, bigger than we had — and still have, actually — in Venezuela." On Sunday, the speaker of Iran’s parliament said the Islamic Republic now considers all European Union militaries to be terrorist groups after the bloc declared the country’s paramilita…