'Iran is dying to make a deal, I don't call it a war': Trump

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump made a series of claims about Iran, its internal situation, and ongoing Washington's actions there, asserting that American intervention has prevented mass executions and significantly degraded Iran's military capabilities.

Speaking during an executive order signing event in the Oval Office, Trump said Iran had carried out mass killings amid internal unrest.

"Iran killed 42,000 people over the last two months. They were going to kill eight women whose lives I saved. And I appreciate that they didn't do it. I asked them not to do it, but they didn't do it."

Trump framed US operations as ongoing but not a formal war, stating, "And that's despite a military operation. I don't call it a war. I'd rather have a military operation. Iran is dying to make a deal."

"Their economy is crashing. The blockade is incredible. The power of the blockade is incredible. They're not getting any money from oil. And hopefully, it can be worked out very soon," he added.

He asserted that US actions had significantly degraded Iran's military capacity, saying, "Their navy's gone. Their air force is gone, their drone factories are about 82 per cent down, and their missile factories are almost 90 per cent down."

US President further alleged that he personally intervened to stop executions, stating, "They were getting ready to hang the women. I got on the phone very quickly, and I said, 'Don't do it. The whole world is watching."

Trump also described broader alleged repression in Iran, including the execution of a wrestler and his associates for political speech, saying, "They killed him because he protested. They executed him along with his friends."

He claimed the overall death toll was far higher than reported figures. He said, "They killed 42,000 innocent, not weapon-carrying people, for protesting, and the number they say is a lot higher than that."

Trump also linked the situation to domestic economic performance, pointing to stock market gains, "We just hit a new high today on the stock market. We have S&P (Standard & Poor's) is through the roof, when we hit 50,000 on the Dow and 7,000 on the S&P, I said to myself, we got to do something about Iran."

He reiterated his long-standing position on Iran's nuclear ambitions, saying, "They want to have a nuclear weapon. You can't let them have a nuclear weapon."

Earlier, Iran's Parliament Speaker, MB Ghalibaf, said that Tehran will ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and end what he described as US "presence and interference" by exercising control over the Strait of Hormuz amid geopolitical tensions due to the Islamic Republic's recent confrontation with Washington and the power struggle between the two sides over the virtual control of the strategic waterway.