US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters in the White House on Friday and hinted that he had given Iran an ultimatum to make a deal with the US.
Asked whether he is giving Iran a deadline to make a deal before potentially taking military action against them, Trump replied, "Only they know for sure."
To the question of whether he has communicated this to them directly, the President said, "Yeah, I have."
Trump also said, “We’ll see how it all works out, it’s a rough situation… a lot of people are being killed. I can say this, Iran wants to make a deal."
He once again noted the increased US military presence in the region, saying, “We have a tremendously powerful fleet there. We have the most powerful ships in the world."
Trump’s latest comments come a day after he revealed he has spoken with the Islamic Republic and expressed hope he does not have to use military action against the country.
Speaking to reporters as he arrived with First Lady Melania Trump for the premiere of a new documentary about the First Lady, Trump was asked whether he has had any conversations with Iran in the last few days, and whether he is planning on having such conversations.
“I have had, and I am planning on it," replied the President, adding, “We have a lot of very big, powerful ships sailing to Iran right now. It would be great if we didn’t have to use them."
Asked what message he had shared with the Iranians, Trump said, “I told them two things: number one, no nuclear, and number two, stop killing protesters. They are killing them by the thousands. I stopped 837 hangings two weeks ago. They are going to have to do something."
On Friday, hours before Trump’s latest comments, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran is prepared to resume nuclear negotiations with the US, but warned that talks cannot proceed while Washington continues to threaten military action.
Araghchi stressed that Iran will not negotiate over its ballistic missile program and said the country is prepared for either outcome. "Iran is ready for both scenarios - war or diplomacy," he said.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)