US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Iran is “seriously talking” with Washington, as Tehran looks to avert military strikes amid weeks of heightened tensions with the United States.

Asked by reporters aboard Air Force One what his latest thinking is on Iran, Trump initially declined to respond before reiterating that he has dispatched significant military assets to the region.

Washington has deployed warships led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier off Iran’s shores, after Trump threatened to intervene in the wake of Tehran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

“I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable,” he said, specifying that he is looking for a deal that leads to Iran giving up its nuclear weapons.

Asked about the Saudi defense minister reportedly saying Trump failing to strike would embolden Iran, the US president said: “Some people think that. Some people don’t.”

“You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons… They should do that, but I don’t know that they will. They are talking to us — seriously talking,” Trump added.

Earlier, Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said that progress had been made toward negotiations with the US, even as the Islamic Republic’s army chief warned Washington against launching military strikes.

“Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing,” said Larijani.

He was speaking a day after the Kremlin said he held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday a broader conflict would hurt both Iran and the United States.

“The Islamic........

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