President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that if no deal is reached with Iran, the US will do "something very tough".
Mr Trump told Israel's Channel 12 that Tehran cannot have nuclear weapons and missiles. "The Iranians really want to make a deal. Either we make a deal, or we have to do something very tough – like last time," he said.
The US carried out strikes on Iran's nuclear sites in June, which Mr Trump claims "obliterated" Tehran's nuclear capabilities.
He later repeated to Fox News that he was interested in making a deal.
"I would say that I'd rather make a deal. It's got to be a good deal," he said. "No nuclear weapons, no missiles, no this, no that, all the different things that you want."
Mr Trump added that there were fears Iran would go back on its word, even if a deal were to be struck.
"Very dishonest [with] Obama and Biden – what they did in terms of creating a monster with Iran was terrible," he said, referring to the original 2015 nuclear deal. "That Iran nuclear deal was one of the dumbest deals I've ever seen."
He told Axios that he was considering sending another aircraft carrier to the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is already in the region.
"We have an armada there and maybe another one on the way," Mr Trump said.
The US and Iran are continuing talks on a new nuclear deal. Negotiations took place in Oman last week and Mr Trump said they would continue this week.
He described the talks "completely different" to those last year, and previously called them "very good".
The US wants Iran to completely abandon its nuclear programme and hand over any enriched uranium, curb the number and range of its ballistic missiles and end support for regional proxy groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Iran, meanwhile, demands relief from the punishing US sanctions programme, but has said its ballistic missiles programme is off the table and that its nuclear programme is non-negotiable.
