Trump Says an Iran Strike Could Come 'Maybe Tomorrow' as a U.S. Carrier Loads Bunker Busters

President Trump told reporters Saturday that the United States could hit Iran again as soon as Sunday, or sign what he called a "big, beautiful" deal with Tehran. He said America comes out ahead either way.

"Do you really think I'd tell you that? Maybe tomorrow," Trump said outside the Palm Beach County elections office in West Palm Beach, where he and first lady Melania Trump cast early ballots, according to ANI. "There's a possibility I will. There's also a possibility we'll have a nice, big, beautiful agreement. They want to make a deal, but the problem is, will they hold the deal?"

Then he summed it up in one line, as the Associated Press reported it: "I may have to finish it off. Or maybe they'll make a deal, but I'm not sure. Either way, we win."

Why he wants it settled for good

The U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran in February. A ceasefire has held on paper, but the talks to lock in a peace deal have stalled, Iranian-backed attacks around the Gulf keep coming, and an American naval blockade of Iran's ports is now more than 100 days old.

Trump said the B-2 bomber raid on Iran's nuclear sites was never meant to be the last word. "I've got to make it permanent," he said, according to Anadolu Agency. "That's the only reason I'm doing it." In other words, a deal that Tehran tears up in two years is no deal at all.

He also pointed to what the military has already done. "Our Navy and military have done an amazing job. They have knocked out every jet fighter of Iran. 259 ships are at the bottom of the sea," he said, per ANI.

The carrier getting ready

The same morning, The Wall Street Journal published a rare look aboard the carrier USS George Washington in the Arabian Sea. Reporters Shelby Holliday and Eve Hartley watched the strike group take on a large load of standoff land-attack missiles and bunker-buster bombs during a resupply at sea, which U.S. officials described as preparation in case Trump orders a fresh round of strikes.

"We have some things that are coming over that are about 4,800 lbs," Cmdr. Brian Garcia, known aboard as the "gun boss," told the Journal as helicopters ferried the weapons in. "This is a bunker buster on skids. We call this rolling stock," he said, meaning it can be rushed up the elevators to the flight deck the moment a mission calls for it.

Think of it like a contractor parking a fully loaded truck in the driveway. It doesn't mean the job starts tomorrow. It means that when the call comes, nothing has to be ordered.

For now, the carrier's jets are enforcing the blockade and guarding tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel that carries a big share of the world's oil.

The envoy who said 'absolutely'

Saturday's remarks came a day after Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, was asked by host Mario Nawfal whether a strike could come this weekend. "Absolutely," Barrack said. "The president doesn't make idle threats. If the world is starting to be choked and there's not a parallel path, we can be certain he will do what he said."

Barrack also made clear the goal is not to topple Iran's government. "The consequence won't be regime change. The president is interested in rebalancing so that there's no hostages, no threats, and the world can calm down," he said, adding that Trump is "open and available and accessible to a deal, but he's also been very clear about what he wants," as The Times of Israel and Anadolu reported.

Asked about it on Friday, Trump kept his cards close. "That was my ambassador? He's a pretty powerful man, I guess. If that's the case, I don't know anything about it," he told reporters in Florida.

Tehran's answer: threats

Iran isn't offering much. Its armed forces chief of staff, Ali Abdollahi, said on state television Saturday that U.S. warships would never be allowed in the Persian Gulf "under any circumstances and at any time," and that Trump "will take that dream to his grave," CBS News and AFP reported. American carriers have sailed those waters for decades.

Iran's Tasnim news agency, which is tied to the Revolutionary Guard, also said Tehran has made no new offer to Pakistani mediators and called a reported proposal to reopen Hormuz in exchange for lifting the blockade "a lie and fabrication," ANI reported, citing Press TV.

The danger to Americans is real. On Friday, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned that Iran has "substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel," with plots to kill Americans abroad at "advanced stages." We covered that warning here, along with the embassy drawdowns across the Gulf.

What happens next

Trump has not announced a decision, and he made a point of saying he won't announce the timing ahead of time. The New York Times reported this week that U.S. and Israeli planners have drawn up a short, intense strike campaign aimed at Iran's missiles, drones, nuclear sites and energy infrastructure. Our report on those plans is here.

Qatar's government says U.S.-Iran talks are still going on. So the door to a deal is open, and the carrier in the Arabian Sea is loaded. Which way it goes is now up to Tehran.