Donald Trump issued a new threat to Iran as he claimed “big powerful ships” are heading towards the Middle Eastern country. The US President has been ramping up pressure on Iran for weeks, threatening the Tehran regime with military action. 

Speaking with reporters aboard the Air Force One on Saturday night, Mr Trump was asked about his “thinking” with Iran. He replied: “I certainly can’t tell you that, but we do have really big powerful ships heading in that direction, as you know. I can’t tell you, but I hope to negotiate something that’s acceptable.”

Mr Trump was also asked to comment on remarks by Saudi Arabia Defence Minister, Khalid bin Salman, who said to believe that a failure from Washington to act military right now against Iran would only strengthen the regime.

Trump replied: “Some people think that and some people don’t. If you could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons, they should do that.

“I don’t know that they will, but they’re talking to us, seriously talking to us.”

Tehran prompted the fury of the US President, and international outrage, with its violent crackdown of protestors who, since late December, have been taking to the streets of Iranian cities to protest their dire economic situation.

In January, Mr Trump said that the US would “rescue” Iranian protesters should authorities use violence against them.

While, amid an internet blackout and strict limitation on the presence of international press in the country, it is hard to gouge the extent of the repression, some human rights organisations believe tens of thousands of people may have been killed by Iranian forces.

Mr Trump kept the pressure on Iran throughout last week, warning the regime on Wednesday that a “beautiful armada”, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying destroyers, was “floating beautifully toward Iran”.

On January 30, Mr Trump seemingly gave Iran an ultimatum, saying it had to pledge to “no nuclear” and “stop killing protesters” to avoid military action.

On Saturday, however, the US leader hinted a possible deal with Iran was possible, as he said the regime was “talking to” the US. He told Fox News: “[Iran is] talking to us, and we’ll see if we can do something, otherwise we’ll see what happens … We have a big fleet heading out there. They are negotiating.”