Trump mulling sending second carrier if talks with Iran fail

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is considering sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East for possible military action against Iran if negotiations fail.

"We have an armada that is heading there, and another one might be going," Trump said in an interview with US news outlet Axios, noting that Washington is weighing additional military deployments while pursuing diplomatic talks with Tehran.

"Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time," Trump said, adding that another aircraft carrier "might be going" to the region.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers have already been deployed to the Middle East.

The United States and Iran held negotiations last week in Oman and the two sides agreed to keep the talks going. The date and venue of the next round of US-Iran talks have yet to be announced.

Expressing optimism about the diplomatic process, he said that Iran "wants to make a deal very badly" and that any agreement should cover Iran's nuclear program as well as its ballistic missile stockpiles.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Washington on Wednesday. Trump said he does not think Netanyahu is nervous about the US-Iran negotiations. "He also wants a deal. He wants a good deal."