WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that if Tehran fails to strike a nuclear deal with Washington, "we will find out" whether Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was right to warn that a U.S. attack could ignite a regional war.
Khamenei said at a meeting in Tehran earlier on Sunday that if the United States starts a war against Iran, "it will be a regional war."
"Of course he would say that," Trump said when asked by a reporter about Khamenei's remarks.
"But we have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there, very close, couple of days, and hopefully we'll make a deal," he said.
"We don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he (Khamenei) was right," he added.
Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar are arranging a meeting in Ankara later this week between Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior Iranian officials, U.S. online media outlet Axios reported on Sunday.
Trump has not yet made a final decision on launching military strikes against Iran, said the report, citing anonymous White House officials.
The Trump administration deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and multiple warships to the Middle East late last month.
Amid Iran's ongoing unrest and surging tensions between Tehran and Washington, Trump said in an interview with Politico last month that he believed it was "time to look for new leadership in Iran."
Khamenei said on Sunday that Iran would not start a war and does not seek to attack any country, "but Iranian people will deliver a hard punch to those seeking to attack and harass them." ■
