Washington, March 30 : President Donald Trump said that a deal with Iran may be close, even as he described extensive US strikes that he said had weakened the countryâ??s military and leadership and accelerated negotiations.

â??I do see a deal in Iranâ?¦ could be soon too,â?? Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back from Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

He said the United States was engaged in both direct and indirect talks with Tehran. â??We are negotiating with them directly and indirectly. We have emissaries, but we also are dealing directly,â?? he said.

Trump linked the diplomatic push to recent military action, claiming sweeping destruction of Iranian assets. â??We were gonna knock out 158 ships, their entire Navy, which we didâ?¦ we knocked out their entire Air Forceâ?¦ most of their missiles,â?? he said.

He argued the strikes had reshaped Iranâ??s leadership. â??It is truly regime changeâ?¦ we have a groupâ?¦ a new regimeâ?¦ people that weâ??ve never dealt with before that are acting very reasonable,â?? Trump said.

According to Trump, Tehran had responded positively to US demands. â??We asked for 15 things and for the most partâ?¦ theyâ??re agreeing with us on the plan,â?? he said.

He also cited what he described as goodwill gestures from Iran. â??They gave us 10 massive boat loads of oilâ?¦ and today they gave us another 20 boatloads of oil... that starts being shipped tomorrow,â?? he said.

Still, Trump acknowledged uncertainty around a final agreement. â??I think weâ??ll make a deal with them, pretty sure. But itâ??s possible we wonâ??t,â?? he said.

Asked about the possibility of deploying US troops, Trump said Washington retained multiple options. â??We have tremendous numbers of ships over thereâ?¦ I just have lots of alternatives,â?? he said.

He reiterated his firm stance on Iranâ??s nuclear programme. â??I donâ??t want Iran to have a nuclear weaponâ?¦ if they had a nuclear weapon, theyâ??d use it immediately,â?? he said.

Trump warned of severe consequences if Tehran failed to comply. â??Theyâ??re gonna give up nuclear weaponsâ?¦ and maybe have a great country again. But if they donâ??tâ?¦ theyâ??re not even gonna have a country,â?? he said.

He also said regional allies had stepped up their response following recent attacks. â??Saudi Arabia is fighting back hardâ?¦ Qatar is fighting back, UAE is fighting backâ?¦ theyâ??re all fighting back,â?? he said, adding that the countries were â??a hundred per cent on our side.â??

/IANS