Trump says flotilla headed toward Iran
Washington: US President Donald Trump said the United States has deployed a “massive flotilla” toward Iran and signaled that Tehran is seeking negotiations, even as he warned that further action remains possible.
In an interview with Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow, Trump described heightened US military posture in the region.
“As you know, we have a massive floatilla right now going over to Iran. We’ll see what happens,” he said.
Trump suggested Iran is open to talks. “I think they wanna make a deal. I think they’d be foolish if they didn’t,” he said.
He added that any agreement would have to address core US concerns. “It’s gotta be a good deal. No nuclear weapons, no missiles, no this, no that, all the different things that you want,” he said.
At the same time, Trump questioned whether a deal would hold. “A lot of people say no,” he said, referring to doubts about the current Iranian regime’s reliability.
Trump criticised earlier diplomacy with Tehran. “Obama and Biden, what they did in terms of creating a monster with Iran was terrible,” he said. “That Iran nuclear deal was one of the dumbest deals I’ve ever seen.”
He also referenced prior US action against Iranian nuclear facilities. “We took out their nuclear power last time and we’ll have to see if we take out more this time,” he said.
Trump framed the deployment and diplomacy as part of a broader strategy that links economic leverage and national security tools.
“I settled eight wars. Of the eight wars, at least six were settled because of tariffs,” he said earlier in the interview, arguing that trade pressure strengthens U negotiating power globally.
The remarks come amid ongoing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and regional activities.
Iran remains central to regional security calculations in West Asia, affecting energy markets, maritime routes and geopolitical alignments.
India, which has longstanding civilizational and economic ties with Iran, closely tracks developments in the Gulf given its energy dependence and strategic interests, including connectivity projects and shipping security in the region.