Dubai: The Donald Trump administration has decided to deploy a third aircraft carrier strike group and additional Marine Corps ships to West Asia, potentially adding 9,000 to 10,000 troops to the region, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.
The move comes as Trump considers resuming military strikes on Iran if diplomatic efforts fail after the November 3 US midterm elections, according to the report.
Trump said in a Time magazine interview published on Thursday that he would no longer accept proposals from Iran that “he wouldn't have approved a year ago.”
He also left open the possibility of resuming bombing Iran after the November 3 election. Asked by journalists where the US might strike, Trump declined to provide details, saying, “I can't tell you that because, look, you know, you're asking, where are you going to bomb?”
At the same time, Trump rejected reports that Hamas had warned Israel ahead of its October 7, 2023 attack. He said he first heard about those reports on the same day as his September 28 interview with Time reporters, adding, “I can't imagine this.”
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Trump said that had Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu been forewarned, “he would have done something about it” or “would have had people at least alert.”
An Israeli newspaper had reported that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan warned Netanyahu about a planned major Hamas offensive days before the October 7, 2023 attack. Netanyahu has strongly denied the report.
Trump says Iran may be linked to flydubai cockpit attack
In a fresh criticism of Tehran, Trump alleged that Iran may be linked to the flydubai co-pilot accused of trying to crash an Israel-bound plane.
Asked by reporters at the White House on Thursday whether he had been briefed about any links between the suspect and Tehran, Trump said, “We're working on it right now.”
“I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is yes, but we're working on it right now,” Trump said. He did not provide details.
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Asked whether the US would retaliate against Tehran if it was found to be behind the attack, Trump said, “Oh they'll be hit, very hard, don't worry.”
“You just ask them,” he added. “They know what happened. They'll be hit very hard.”
The flydubai incident remains under investigation, with authorities examining the suspect's motive and any possible links or accomplices.
Iran won't shy away from peace talks with US
Iran will never shy away from dialogue with the US, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday, as Tehran weighs Washington's response to its latest proposal aimed at reviving a collapsed ceasefire in the Gulf.
Pezeshkian made the comments during a meeting with Iranian business owners and entrepreneurs.
Iran said on September 30 that it had received a US response to its latest proposal, days after Trump said he had rejected it.
With the US-Israeli war against Iran entering its eighth month, Tehran had proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and resuming negotiations, conditional on the United States lifting its blockade of Iranian ports. The proposal was being discussed through mediators even after Trump publicly rejected it.
