US President Donald Trump said on Friday that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen”.
Asked if he wanted regime change in Iran, Trump said it “seems like the best thing that could happen.”
He declined to say who wants to take over Iran, but said “there are people.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said: “They’ve been talking and talking and talking for 47 years. Meanwhile, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they’ve been talking. Legs blown off, hands blown off, faces blown off. We’ve been going on for a long time, so we’ll see what happens.”
Trump added: “In the meantime, a huge force and additional energy has arrived, as you know, and additional carriers will be leaving soon. So we’ll see.”
“Solve this once and for all and it will be fine,” the US president said on Friday.
The US sent a second carrier to the Middle East
Trump’s statement came a day after his administration reportedly ordered a second aircraft carrier to sail from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.
The Gerald R Ford will join the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, several guided-missile destroyers, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft that have been moved to the Middle East in recent weeks, Reuters reported.
The Gerald R. Ford, the United States’ newest and largest carrier, operates with its escort ships in the Caribbean and participated in operations in Venezuela earlier this year.
Trump’s military moves and tough talks came even as Washington and Tehran seek to revive diplomacy over Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West.
Trump warns Iran of “very traumatic” consequences
Earlier on Thursday, Trump also threatened Iran, warning it of “very traumatic” consequences if it does not sign the nuclear deal.
“We have to come to an agreement or it will be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don’t want that to happen, but we have to come to an agreement,” Trump said.
The US is conducting negotiations in Iran
A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would hold talks with Iran in Geneva on Tuesday.
It may also include representatives from Oman who act as intermediaries.
A source told Reuters that Witkoff and Kushner will also meet with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Geneva on Tuesday as part of a US drive to end the war in Ukraine.