Washington is willing to talk to Tehran to ease tensions, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton said.
At the same time Bolton noted that the U.S. is set for retaliatory action against Iranian military provocations.
"It's a very precarious situation," he said during a meeting in the White House West Wing when asked about the standoff with Iran.
"The National Security Strategy lists Iran as one of the four top threats, and we just need to be sure we've got the capability to deter them from these kinds of activities, threatening American lives and facilities, threatening the international oil market," Bolton said of the deployment of military forces in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon.
Bolton stressed that U.S. President Donald Trump is ready to meet Iran's leader for talks and would be ready to work on a deal with Tehran "assuming they give up nuclear weapons and stop the other malicious activity that they're engaged in."
