The president confirmed that negotiations are ongoing but insisted that Tehran has not given up developing nuclear weapons.
"They want to make a deal, but we haven't heard those secret words: 'We will never have a nuclear weapon.' My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy, but one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. Can't let that happen," Trump said in his State of the Union address to Congress.
Last month, US President Donald Trump announced the deployment of a "massive armada" to the Middle East, led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln – and warned Tehran of potential attacks if it refuses to end its nuclear energy program and dismantle its ballistic missile arsenal.