president Donald Trump On Saturday, he said he believed Iran was negotiating “seriously” with the United States and stressed that he hoped an “acceptable” deal could be reached.

The president reportedly made the remarks as he weighed his options. Possible military strike against Iran amid widespread protests and violent crackdowns in the country.

When asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether he had decided to launch an attack on Iran, Trump responded: “Of course I can’t tell you.”

“But we do have very large, powerful ship Moving in that direction,” he added. “I hope they can negotiate something acceptable. “

Top diplomat warns Iran will ‘go to great lengths’ to retaliate if US attacks

President Donald Trump walks to Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The president later dodged a question about whether Tehran would be emboldened if the United States chose not to launch an attack on Iran, saying: “Some people think so and some people don’t.”

“You can make a negotiated agreement “It would be satisfactory if there were no nuclear weapons. They should do that, but I don’t know that they will,” Trump said. “But they are talking to us.” Talked to us very seriously. “

Trump said the United States will Not sharing military plans Despite the influx of U.S. naval forces into the region, the U.S. remains in talks with its Gulf allies and simultaneously with Iran.

Trump says Iran has called for deal ‘many times’ as aircraft carrier enters Middle East waters

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media aboard Air Force One as he flies from Washington, D.C., to West Palm Beach, Florida, on January 31, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“We can’t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan – actually probably worse,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Channel’s senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich on Saturday.

“But, look, the plan is (Iran) talks to us and we’ll see if we can do something,” Trump continued. “Otherwise, we’ll see what happens. … We had a large fleet going there, larger than we had in Venezuela, and actually still are.”

The Islamic Republic now considers all EU troops to be terrorist organizations after the EU declared Iran a paramilitary group, the speaker of Iran’s parliament said on Sunday. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps A terrorist group suppresses protests across the country.

Iran again invokes 2019 law to declare other countries’ militaries terrorist organizations United States Designated Guard It was designated as a terrorist organization that year.

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President Donald Trump leaves after the Peace Commission Initiative signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, January 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Marcus Schreiber)

The announcement by former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Bagher Qalabaf comes as the Islamic Republic also plans to conduct live-fire military exercises in strategic strategic areas on Sunday and Monday. Strait of HormuzThe narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil trade passes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.