WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump reiterated that the United States has deployed a substantial naval force to the Middle East amid heightened tensions with Iran.

"We have a big armada going over there right now, and hopefully we won't have to use it. But it's very powerful, bigger than what we have in Venezuela that we sent over that worked out so well," Trump said in a radio interview released Tuesday.

The US deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East on Monday "to promote regional security and stability."

It also moved additional Patriot and THAAD air defense systems to the Middle East according to media reports.

Tens of thousands of people rallied across Iranian cities over economic grievances, prompting Trump to warn of US intervention if the Iranian government continued to use lethal force against “peaceful” protesters, though he later softened his rhetoric after claiming on "good authority" that the killing of protesters had stopped and that Tehran had canceled plans for mass executions.

Iranian officials have warned that any US attack would provoke a "swift and comprehensive" response.

Later, speaking in the US state of Iowa, Trump said there is "another beautiful" armada heading toward Iran right now.

"So we'll see. I hope they make a deal. I hope they make a deal. They should have made a deal the first time. They'd have a country," he told his supporters.

Iran has repeatedly said that it will not engage in talks under pressure, while US officials have signaled conditional openness to diplomacy, keeping the prospects of near-term negotiations uncertain.