Aircraft carrier: Trump posts a cryptic image without comment

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump posted a photo of an aircraft carrier on his Truth Social platform without any accompanying comment.

The cryptic post came hours after Trump told reporters that he would send a second US aircraft carrier to the Middle East if he failed to reach an agreement with Iran.

Asked about the possible addition of the US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford to a growing array of American military assets in the region, Trump replied: “We’ll need it if we’re unable to reach a deal.”

He also indicated that if diplomatic negotiations with Tehran succeeded, both vessels would leave soon, adding: “If we make a deal, they’ll leave very quickly.”

Pessimism

Later, Trump struck a pessimistic tone while speaking to reporters about the negotiations, raising the possibility of regime change in Iran.

When asked whether he wanted “regime change” in Iran, Trump told journalists at Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina: “It seems that would be the best thing that could happen.”

He added: “For 47 years, they’ve talked and talked and talked. In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives.”

Trump has been hinting at possible military action against Tehran since protests erupted there late last December, which authorities met with a “crackdown” that resulted in thousands of deaths, according to organizations.

In recent weeks, however, Trump has not publicly referred to the “crackdown” and has linked the avoidance of military action to Iran’s agreement to a deal regarding its nuclear program.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday night, he said: “We have to make a deal, otherwise it will be very painful… I don’t want that to happen (referring to military strikes), but we have to make a deal.”

Washington has reinforced its military presence in the Middle East in recent weeks, deploying a fleet led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Iran and the United States held talks in Oman last week, and although no dates have been set for a new round, there have been indications that Trump remains optimistic about the prospects of reaching an agreement.

Iran insists that negotiations be limited to the nuclear file, which Western countries suspect is aimed at developing a nuclear weapon—an allegation Tehran consistently denies.

By contrast, US and Western officials have argued that any agreement with Tehran should also address its ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups hostile to Israel in the region.