Trump weighs a deal with Iran against military action to destroy it

U.S. President Donald Trump said he was weighing a deal with Iran or resuming military operations to destroy it, asserting that the United States now controls the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran said its positions would not change.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had not yet decided between reaching a deal with Iran and resuming military operations against it, asking: "Should I make a deal with them or destroy them? That is the only question."

In a phone interview with Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," Trump added that Iran had "never taken a hit this powerful before," claiming that the United States "now controls the Strait of Hormuz" and that "they get nothing and we get everything."

Attack on the nuclear deal

Trump renewed his attack on the nuclear deal reached in 2015 under then-President Barack Obama, describing it as the "worst and dumbest deal" he had ever seen and repeating his claim that Obama sent Iran $1.7 billion in cash aboard a plane.

Before traveling to Michigan as part of his election campaign, Trump was asked about declassified intelligence reports indicating that Iran was in advanced stages of planning attacks against the United States. He said he had "two completely different sets of intelligence reports" and that his country was "doing very well with Iran."

Tehran: Our positions will not change

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the possibility of a resumption of the war would not change Tehran's positions, stressing that his country's policies "remain as they are" whether war breaks out or not.

This comes amid a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports restricting oil exports, and reports of U.S.-Israeli plans for a new round of strikes that could begin after the midterm elections on November 3, while the price of Brent crude exceeded $117 a barrel last week.