Trump says he does not know if US willing to make deal with Iran

US President Donald Trump on Thursday signalled uncertainty about whether the United States was willing to strike a deal with Iran, even as he claimed Tehran was eager to negotiate.

"They're not fools. They're very smart, actually, in a certain way. And they're great negotiators," Trump said at a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

Iran is "begging" to make a deal, he added.

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"They're great negotiators, and they are begging to work out a deal. I don't know if we'll be able to do that. I don't know if we're willing to do that," Trump said.

Regional tensions have escalated since February 28, when the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran that has killed more than 1,340 people so far, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets.

Thirteen US service members have been killed and around 290 others have been injured since the operation began.

10 oil tankers as a good gesture

Trump also said on Thursday that Iran was letting 10 ​oil tankers transit the Strait of Hormuz as an ‌apparent goodwill gesture in negotiations.

Trump made the comments at a Cabinet meeting in the White House, elaborating on what he ​had previously described as a "present" from Iran.

"They ​said, to show you the fact that we're ⁠real and solid and we're there, we're going ​to let you have eight boats of oil, eight ​boats, eight big boats of oil," Trump said. "I guess they were right, and they were real, and I think they ​were Pakistani-flagged... It ended up being 10 boats."

The ​White House did not immediately respond to a request for more ‌details ⁠on the vessels.

Trump's comments came as he pressed Iran to agree to a deal that would clear the maritime chokepoint and end its nuclear program.

The US president ​on Tuesday ​had baffled ⁠some observers when he said that Iran had given the United States an ​expensive, energy-related concession. At the time, he ​declined ⁠to say what exactly he meant.

"They gave us a present and the present arrived today, and it was ⁠a ​very big present, worth a tremendous ​amount of money," Trump told reporters then.