“We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela,” the president told Axios‘s Barak Ravid in an interview on Monday. Trump declined to tell Ravid which options his national security team had presented to him or which he currently favored. At the same time, he said that diplomacy with the Islamic Republic remained an option. “They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk,” Trump said.
Anonymous U.S. officials told Axios that any deal with Iran would have to include the removal of all enriched uranium from the country, a ban on future enrichment, a cap on its stockpile of long-range missiles, and a “change” in its policy of supporting regional terrorist proxies. The Iranians have said they’re willing to engage in negotiations but have not signaled willingness to accept Washington’s terms, Axios reported.
According to the outlet, some of Trump’s more hawkish advisers have urged him to enforce his red line after the regime killed thousands of protesters. Other members of the president’s circle have questioned what strikes would achieve and shown interest in using the regime’s weakness to push for a diplomatic agreement, the report noted. (Ed note: Can you guess who is for what in those White House debates?) (Read More)
