US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Iran “better negotiate a fair deal", while slamming the regime’s leadership over their crackdown on anti-government protests last month.
“You know, the people of Iran are a lot different than the leaders of Iran. And it's a very, very sad situation. 32,000 people were killed over a relatively short period of time," Trump said, marking the first time he has mentioned the death toll in the crackdown. “They were going to hang 800, two weeks ago, some by crane. They lift them up with a tall crane and they play them around the square."
“They were going to hang 837 people and I gave them the word: ‘If you hang one person, even one person, that you're going to be hit right then and there.’ I wasn't waiting two weeks and negotiating, and they gave up the hanging. They didn't hang 837. Supposedly they didn't hang anybody," he added.
“I feel very badly for the people of Iran. They've lived in hell," continued Trump.
Earlier on Friday, Trump appeared to confirm that he was considering a limited military strike on Iran to coax it into accepting a nuclear deal on his terms.
Asked by reporters if he was mulling a limited strike, after The Wall Street Journal reported this on Thursday, Trump paused and smiled before responding, “I guess you can say I am considering it."
At the same time, as reporters were ushered out of the room, Trump suggested that he was not going to publicly telegraph his plans regarding Iran.
Trump’s comments came as the USS Gerald R. Ford, which he ordered to be deployed to the Middle East last week, entered the Mediterranean Sea, according to maritime tracking data.
Maritime tracking websites showed that the USS Mahan Arleigh Burke-class destroyer - part of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group - had crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. It is expected take the aircraft carrier several more days to reach the Middle East and be poised to operate against Iran.
Trump warned Iran on Thursday that it must reach a deal over its nuclear program or “bad things" will happen.
The President said negotiations with Iran were going well, but insisted Tehran has to reach a “meaningful" agreement.
“Now, we may have to take it a step further - or we may not. Maybe we’re going to make a deal. You’re going to be finding out over the next, probably 10 days," Trump added.
On Wednesday, CBS News reported that top national security officials have informed Trump that the United States military is prepared for potential strikes against Iran as early as this Saturday.
However, sources familiar with the high level discussions told CBS News that the timeline for any potential action is likely to extend beyond this coming weekend.
One source in the US administration, who was quoted by The Telegraph, said there was now a 90 percent chance of war in the coming weeks. An Israeli former intelligence chief cited in the same report said he believed the strike would take place within days.
(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.)