Iranian gunboats like the ones described Tuesday operate in the Persian Gulf. (Shadati/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Iran's regime has vowed that any military strike on its territory would ignite a regional conflict, even as senior Iranian officials signaled a willingness to negotiate with the U.S.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, according to Axios. The publication also reported that Witkoff will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul on Friday.
The talks in Israel are expected to focus on Iran, following Zamir’s weekend visit to Washington, where he held a series of meetings with U.S. defense officials on the Islamic Republic.
President Donald Trump says Iran is taking talks "seriously" amid U.S. threats. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump said on Saturday he believes Iran is negotiating "seriously" with the U.S., stressing that he hopes an "acceptable" deal can be brokered.
When asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether he had decided on a strike against Iran, Trump responded, "I certainly can't tell you that."
"But we do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction," he added. "I hope they negotiate something that's acceptable."
The president then sidestepped a question about whether Tehran would be emboldened if the U.S. opted not to launch strikes on Iran, saying, "Some people think that. Some people don’t."
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"You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons," Trump said. "They should do that, but I don't know that they will. But they are talking to us. Seriously talking to us."
Fox News' Efrat Lachter and Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on X: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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