Washington isn’t seeking regime change in Iran, President Donald Trump has said, as the US continues to beef up its military might in the Middle East amid ongoing tensions with Tehran.

“We’re not looking for regime change... We’re looking for no nuclear weapons,” Trump claimed at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. Despite saber-rattling, Trump still thinks his country will “make a deal” with Tehran.

The US leader has been on a four-day official visit to Japan, which has offered to mediate between Washington and Tehran.

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“The prime minister’s already spoken to me about that, and I do believe that Iran would like to talk. And if they’d like to talk, we’d like to talk also,” Trump said.

We’ll see what happens... nobody wants to see terrible things happen, especially me.

The supposed declarations of peace coincide with the US sending a number of state-of-the-art warships – including aircraft carrier – to the Middle East, labeling it “a message” to Iran.

Tensions started escalating last year when Trump unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal (known as the JCPOA) between world powers and Iran, re-imposing crippling sanctions on the country.

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Iran has denied any wrongdoing, with other members of the agreement as well as the international nuclear watchdog (IAEA) confirming its compliance. Tehran says it’s open to dialogue but cautioned on Sunday that talking to the US may be unfruitful because it’s like “negotiating with the devil.”

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