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President Donald Trump has said the U.S. could not share military plans with Gulf allies while negotiating with Iran, even as a major American naval presence moves into the region.
Trump, speaking with Fox News Channel Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, responded to reporting that Gulf allies remain in the dark about potential U.S. intervention plans involving Iran.
It comes as Trump is understood to be weighing his options on a possible military strike on Iran amid widespread protests and violent crackdowns inside the country.
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‘‘Well, we can’t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan — it could be worse, actually,’’ Trump said. ‘‘But look, the plan is that [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, bigger than we had — and still have, actually — in Venezuela.’’
Trump announced earlier this week that a ‘‘massive Armada is heading to Iran,’’ led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
A senior Gulf official told Fox News that Saudi Arabia would not allow the U.S. to use its airspace or bases for an attack. A high-ranking government figure from a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state told Fox News that the ‘‘U.S. hasn’t shared objectives or plans’’ regarding Iran with Gulf allies, despite recent high-level Saudi meetings in Washington aimed at gaining clarity.
Gulf allies have said Iran frequently seeks negotiations, but they remain skeptical that talks will lead to a deal.
‘‘Well, that’s true, but they are negotiating, so we’ll see what happens,’’ Trump said, responding to that assessment.
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‘‘You know, the last time they negotiated, we had to take out their nuclear, didn’t work, you know. Then we took it out a different way, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump added.
Trump also addressed government funding and the risk of a shutdown, saying Democrats would bear responsibility if talks collapse.
‘‘I think it’s going fine. We had a big GDP, I lost a point and a half because of the last [shutdown],’’ Trump said. ‘‘So you’ll see what happens. I think the Democrats don’t want it to happen. Makes them look very bad, yeah, but it’s not a good thing for the country. So hopefully, enough people will use their heads.’’
Asked about Democratic demands that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents remove face coverings as part of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding negotiations, Trump declined to engage, while pointing to recent comments on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and law enforcement efforts.
‘‘I don’t want to comment on that yet, because it’s not time to,’’ Trump said. ‘‘But I’ll have a comment. You saw my statement on Kristi yesterday. You know where my attitude is. We’re at a low point in history in crime. Since 1900 — recorded history… We have the lowest crime, the lowest number of murders, the lowest everything, because we’re taking criminals out of our country. And Tom’s doing great.’’
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