Trump says he hopes military action against Iran won’t be necessary

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he hoped to avoid military action against Iran, noting that he intended to hold further talks with Tehran over a possible nuclear agreement.

“I strengthened the military during my first term, and now we have forces heading toward a place called Iran, and hopefully we won’t have to use them,” Trump told reporters at the premiere of a documentary about his wife, Melania.

When asked whether he would engage in talks with Iran, Trump said he already had and planned to continue. “Yes, we have a lot of very large, very powerful ships moving toward Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them,” he added.