Trump says U.S. sending larger number of ships toward Iran, hopes for deal

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States is sending a larger number of ships toward Iran and expressed hope for a deal, while warning that “if we don’t make a deal, we’ll see what happens.”

Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump said: “We have a large armada flotilla go out, whatever you want, heading toward Iran right now, even larger than what we had in Venezuela… We’re now sending actually a larger number of ships to Iran.”

He added: “Hopefully we’ll make a deal. If we do make a deal, that’s good. If we don’t make a deal, we’ll see what happens.”

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U.S. is  'very close' to Ukraine-Russia settlement

Trump also added that he believes a settlement between Ukraine and Russia may be within reach, despite the deep animosity between the two countries’ leaders. Trump noted that the personal and political hostility between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin has complicated efforts to end the conflict. “Zelenskyy and Putin hate each other, and it makes it very difficult. But I think we're getting very close to getting a settlement,” Trump said, adding that he believes “we have a good chance of getting it settled,” though he did not provide details on the substance of ongoing discussions.

Economic achievements and Federal Reserve

Trump also highlighted record-breaking economic developments. He said: “Numbers came out this morning, they’re phenomenal for the country. For the first time in 28 years, America made more steel than Japan, can you believe it? The numbers are record-setting numbers. We have over 18 trillion dollars coming into our country, building thousands of plants and all sorts of businesses all over the United States. The record was 3 trillion 10 years ago, not by us. And we’re going to do 18, maybe even hit 20.”

On stock market performance, Trump said: “We just set, as you know, the S&P 500 just set a new record, 7,000. Forty-eight stock market highs. This is quicker time than they thought, maybe at the end of four years or five years or six years, but we did it in the first year.”

He addressed Federal Reserve matters, saying he was “not worried about Warsh confirmation.” He added it was “inappropriate to ask Warsh about rate cuts” and noted he would “probably talk about cutting rates with Warsh.”

Crime and border enforcement

Trump praised crime reductions, saying: “Crime is at an all-time low. Lowest number, low, best numbers on crime in the history, in the recorded history of our country, and the lowest numbers of murders in the history of our country that we have recorded. A lot of that is because we have a closed border. We’ve taken out thousands and thousands of criminals and murderers and drug dealers. We either brought them back to their country or, in some cases, we have to put them in our jails.”

Motorsport celebration for the 250th anniversary

The Oval Office event primarily focused on a motorsport celebration planned for Washington, D.C. in August. Trump praised Roger Penske, chairman of Penske Corporation, calling him a “legend” in racing. He said: “Certainly in racing he’s won the Indianapolis 500 20 times. He ended up buying the track. Now he owns a race. It’s going to be really exciting.”

Introducing Fox Sports executives and transportation officials, Trump said: “We do the biggest events in sports this year. FIFA World Cup, dovetailing right after that, to be able to celebrate America’s birthday. It’s an absolutely incredible honour. Everyone at Fox Sports can’t wait to see exactly how this is going to unfold and bring it to life.”

He also discussed coordination with Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy: “Sean, please. The President gave us all a directive. We’re going to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. To think 190 miles an hour down Pennsylvania Avenue, this is going to be wild.”

Reflecting on the history of racing in the capital, he added: “The last time we had a race in the capital city, 1801, Thomas Jefferson with a horse race. Now we’re going to do a real race.”

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