Trump Threatens to Deploy Massive Force If Dialogue with Iran Fails

United States President Donald Trump said that he is prepared to deploy “very massive force” if ongoing negotiations with Iran fail. This was cited as the rationale behind the dispatch of a second aircraft carrier to the region.

“If we don’t make a deal, we’re going to need it… If we have a deal, we can stop it sooner,” said Trump.

“That will be leaving. It will be leaving soon. We already have one there that just arrived… We’re getting it ready. A big force, very big,” he said.

Trump’s statement regarding the deployment came after reports that the US would be sending the USS Gerald R. Ford to the Middle East to support the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group.

When asked about negotiations with Iran, Trump said he believed the negotiations would “work out.”

“And if it doesn’t, it will be a bad day for Iran — very bad,” said Trump.

Previously, mediated by Oman, the US and Iran had held indirect talks in the capital Muscat to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program. The meeting marked the end of a suspension of approximately eight months after the US launched strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities amid the escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict.

Amid the negotiations, the US has significantly increased its military presence in the region. Trump also warned Iran that the country must reach a deal.

Uranium enrichment remains the primary point of contention. The US is demanding that Iran halt uranium enrichment and transfer its highly enriched uranium abroad. Tehran has firmly rejected these demands.

Washington has also sought to include Iran’s missile program and its support for armed groups in the region in the negotiations, but Tehran has repeatedly insisted it will not negotiate on issues beyond its nuclear program.