President Donald Trump said Iran is seeking negotiations as significant US military assets arrive in the region, though White House officials indicated a strike on regime targets remains under consideration, Axios reported on January 26.

"We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela," Trump told Axios in an exclusive interview, referring to his decision to dispatch the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which is currently off the coast of Oman, 800km south of Iran’s coast, according flight tracking data seen by IntelliNews on January 26.

Trump reportedly refused to tell details of the current military build-up but repeated previous claims that Iran wants to make a deal.  

"They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk," he stated.

The president reportedly came close to ordering strikes on Iranian clerical regime targets earlier this month following the killing more than 3,100 protestors according to the Iranian government’s own figures.

According to available information witnessed by this news agency’s military experts the build up has been ongoing for more than two weeks, including bringing naval forces from East Asia and the US.

The extensive military deployment includes 23 KC-135R Stratotanker refuelling aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, KC-46A Pegasus tankers, EA-37B Compass Call II electronic warfare aircraft deployed to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, and MQ-4C Triton UAVs at Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE.

Multiple C-17 Globemaster III cargo flights have transported equipment from Pearl Harbor to Al Udeid and Robert Grey Army Airfield to Ali Al Salem Air Base, with F-15E Strike Eagles positioned at various locations and assets staged at Morón Air Base in Spain and RAF Mildenhall in the UK, IntelliNews previously reported.

The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group includes a submarine carrying 150 Tomahawk missiles is currently situated off the coast of Oman within CENTCOM range.

A US Navy P-8A Poseidon became the most-tracked flight globally with 2,600 monitors on January 24.

CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper visited Israel on January 23 to coordinate military plans and potential joint defensive efforts to counter an Iranian attack against Israel, sources told Axios.

US officials previously said any deal would require the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran, a cap on long-range missiles, changes to Iran's policy of supporting regional proxies, and a ban on independent uranium enrichment.

Some hawkish members of Trump's circle have urged him to enforce his red line after promising to support protesters and punish the regime.

Others questioned what bombing Tehran would achieve and favoured using the regime's weakness to push for negotiations.

The United Arab Emirates reaffirmed on January 26 that it will not allow its airspace, territory or waters to be used for hostile military actions against Iran.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reaffirmed the United Arab Emirates' commitment to not allowing its airspace, territory, or waters to be used in any hostile military actions against Iran, and to not providing any logistical support in this regard," Afra Al Hameli, Director of Strategic Communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated, IntelliNews previously reported.