President Donald Trump said Iran appears to be looking to negotiate with the U.S. amid a growing military buildup in the Middle East.

In a Monday interview with Axios, Trump suggested that Tehran had reached out on "numerous occasions" and "want[s] to make a deal."

"They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk," the president told the outlet.

According to U.S. officials, also cited by Axios, any potential agreement would need Tehran to remove all enriched uranium, cap its long-range missile stockpile, a change in support for regional proxy forces, and cease independent uranium enrichment, terms Iranian leaders have not agreed to.

ISRAELI UN AMBASSADOR SENDS STARK WARNING TO IRAN AMID GROWING UNREST

Trump also described the situation with Iran as "in flux," and pointed to the arrival of what he called "a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela," referencing the recent deployment of U.S. naval assets.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier entered CENTCOM waters in the Indian Ocean on Monday amid increasing threats from Iran, a senior U.S. official said.

Trump had told reporters Jan. 21, "We have a big flotilla going in that direction, and we’ll see what happens. We have a big force going towards Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely."

The U.S. military buildup comes amid widespread unrest inside Iran following protests that began Dec. 28.

SECRET SERVICE AWARE AFTER IRANIAN STATE TV AIRS TRUMP THREAT FEATURING PHOTO OF BUTLER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

According to a recent report from Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the confirmed death toll from the protests has reached 5,848, with an additional 17,091 deaths under investigation.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been sheltering in a fortified underground facility, according to Iran International.

Trump is expected to hold further consultations this week, Axios said, before adding that White House officials said an attack is still on the table.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado argued that a successful democratic transition for her country would rapidly transform the nation's economy and reverse years of instability, reshaping the region’s political landscape.

Machado told the New York Post in an interview that such an outcome would define Trump’s foreign policy legacy, comparing it to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"The legacy to the world is going to be huge," she explained. "You’re going to have a prosperous Venezuela and the region.… If you make a comparison in history, this would mean for the Americas as much as the fall of the Berlin Wall had for Europe. It’s equivalent.

"For the first time in history, you will have the Americas free of communism, dictatorship and narco-terrorism for the first time," she added.

POST TRUMP MEETING, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER SAYS COUNTRY WILL HOLD 'FREE AND FAIR' ELECTIONS 'EVENTUALLY'

Machado said she intends to return to Venezuela soon to help drive a democratic transition despite the risks she faces under the country’s current government.

"I need to be there. I want to go back as soon as possible," Machado said.

Her planned return would come at a pivotal moment for Venezuela, as interim President Delcy Rodríguez leads a U.S.-backed transition following the removal of Nicolás Maduro.

Rodríguez, a close ally of Maduro, was sworn into office on Jan. 5 after U.S. forces ousted the ex-leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their compound in Caracas during a military operation.

VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER MARÍA CORINA MACHADO PRESENTS NOBEL MEDAL TO TRUMP DESPITE INSTITUTE BAN

The duo were flown to New York and arraigned in federal court on multiple charges to which they pleaded not guilty.

Rodríguez has since been working with the White House and has spoken with President Donald Trump by phone.

Machado, however, voiced deep reservations about Rodríguez’s leadership, warning that the transition risks falling short without a broader break from the Maduro-era government.

"If Delcy Rodríguez stays, nothing truly changes," she told the Post. "There will be no rule of law, no trust, no stability. Venezuelans will not come home under a criminal."

Iran’s top prosecutor pushed back Friday on a recent announcement from President Donald Trump that Iran canceled more than 800 executions, alleging that the president’s remarks are "completely false." 

Trump wrote on Truth Social last week, "I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!" 

However, Iran’s top prosecutor, Mohammad Movahedi, said Friday that, "This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision," according to The Associated Press. 

"We have a separation of powers, the responsibilities of each institution are clearly defined, and we do not, under any circumstances, take instructions from foreign powers," Movahedi reportedly added in comments published by the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency.

TRUMP CREDITS HALTED IRAN EXECUTIONS FOR DELAYING MILITARY STRIKES

When asked for reaction Friday, a White House official told Fox News Digital that Trump is monitoring the situation in Iran very seriously and that all options remain available if the regime in Tehran executes protesters. 

The official added that following Trump’s warnings to Iran, demonstrators who were set to be sentenced to death there were not. 

The White House official also said Trump believes this is good news and is hoping the trend continues.

IRANIAN SOLDIER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR REFUSING TO FIRE ON PROTESTERS DURING NATIONWIDE UNREST

"What I will say with respect to Iran is that the president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last week. 

As of Friday, there have been 5,032 deaths during the crackdown against anti-government protesters in Iran, the AP reported, citing the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Iran’s government offered its first death toll Wednesday, saying 3,117 people had been killed. It claimed that 2,427 of the dead in the demonstrations that began Dec. 28 were civilians and security forces, with the rest being "terrorists." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump dramatically reversed course Tuesday on a U.K. plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while warning it could jeopardize U.S. access to the Diego Garcia military base.

Trump’s reversal highlights what a defense expert called a "new Trump Doctrine" before linking the president's opposition to the Chagos deal with his Greenland push and citing fears Mauritius could later back out.

Writing on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, Trump called the U.K.’s Chagos decision "an act of great stupidity."

"Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER," Trump wrote. "There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness."

TRUMP ISSUES STERN WARNING TO NATO AHEAD OF VANCE'S HIGH-STAKES GREENLAND MEETING

"Trump has done a 180, partly because of the U.K.’s support for Denmark’s sovereign claims over Greenland and partly because of a new strategy outlined by the White House," John Hemmings, director of the National Security Center at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.

"These moves are linked and part of a ‘new Trump Doctrine’" outlined in November’s National Security Strategy," he explained.

"Diego Garcia is a potential threat to Beijing’s strategy to control vital shipping lanes between the oil-rich Middle East and China’s industrial heartland," he added, describing how "nearly 23.7 million barrels of oil transit the Indian Ocean every day, with the base being vital in any U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan."

TRUMP TELLS DAVOS US ALONE CAN SECURE GREENLAND, INSISTS HE WON’T 'USE FORCE'

In a separate post, Trump explicitly linked the Chagos dispute to his Greenland push.

"The U.K. giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of national security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired," Trump wrote.

The Chagos Islands were separated from Mauritius during Britain’s decolonization process, a move the International Court of Justice ruled unlawful in 2019. 

The U.K. later agreed to transfer sovereignty while leasing Diego Garcia back for at least 99 years at a cost of at least $160 million annually.

Diego Garcia is a hub for long-range bombers, logistics and power projection across the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific and Africa. Around 2,500 personnel, mostly American, are stationed there.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON GREENLAND PUSH AS POLLS SHOW LITTLE PUBLIC SUPPORT

"If Mauritius were to offer the islands to China after taking de jure control, it would put immense pressure on the U.S. in the eyes of international public opinion," Hemmings explained.

"After all, once Mauritius has de jure sovereignty, it can renegotiate the lease terms or even renege on the treaty at any time it wants.

"It might also provide access to the exclusive economic zone, with all of its rich fishing grounds, to Chinese fishing fleets, adding another layer of risk to U.S. Air Force operations around the island," Hemmings said.

"At this moment, the U.S. base at Diego Garcia is thought to be secure, with Mauritius promising the U.K. (and by proxy, the U.S.) a 99-year lease, which will not, it is supposed, interfere with the operations of the air base at all. But the devil is in the details."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Denmark on Monday ramped up its military presence in Greenland, deploying extra troops to the strategic Arctic territory amid escalating tensions with President Donald Trump.

Local Danish broadcaster TV 2 said the Danish Armed Forces confirmed a new contingent of troops, described as "a substantial contribution," were arriving at Greenland’s main international airport Monday night.

Maj. Gen. Søren Andersen, head of Denmark’s Arctic Command, said about 100 Danish soldiers have already arrived in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, with others later deployed to Kangerlussuaq in western Greenland.

The new military move comes in the wake of comments made by Trump over the region's strategic and military importance. 

WHITE HOUSE URGES 'COOLER HEADS TO PREVAIL' AS EU FIRES BACK ON TRUMP TARIFFS OVER GREENLAND

In a Truth Social post Jan. 18, Trump warned that Denmark had failed to secure Greenland against foreign threats.

"NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that ‘you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland,’" Trump wrote. 

"Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now it is time, and it will be done!!!" he said.

US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VISITS DENMARK AMID BACKLASH OVER TRUMP'S PUSH TO ACQUIRE GREENLAND

On Monday, a text message exchange between Trump and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre over Greenland and the Nobel Peace Prize was released in a statement.

"Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway?" Trump said before adding that there were "no written documents; it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also," he said in part of the exchange.

"I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT," he added.

Before now, according to Reuters, Andersen had said that Danish troop deployment was driven by broader security concerns, not by Trump’s statements.

NATO AMBASSADOR SAYS EUROPE 'HAS A TENDENCY TO OVERREACT' OVER GREENLAND DISPUTE

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen also said that Denmark has begun increasing its military footprint in and around Greenland in cooperation with its NATO allies and as part of efforts to strengthen Arctic defense, Reuters reported.

Danish forces already stationed in Greenland could remain for a year or more, with additional rotations planned in the coming years.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Jan. 15 the presence of European troops would not affect Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland.

"I don't think troops from Europe impact the president's decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all," she told reporters.

The additional Danish troop deployment also came following Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would impose a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from countries that have supported Denmark and Greenland, including Norway.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez has appeared in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) intelligence files dating back several years and was labeled a "priority target" in 2022, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The documents show the DEA has intelligence files on Rodríguez going back to at least 2018, with her name appearing in multiple investigations across several U.S. and international field offices, though she has never been publicly accused of any criminal wrongdoing, the outlet reported.

The DEA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The "priority target" designation is used by the agency to focus investigative resources on individuals or organizations believed to play a significant role in major drug trafficking or money laundering operations affecting the United States, according to a 2008 DEA assessment.

VENEZUELA’S ACTING PRESIDENT TOUTS ‘NEW POLITICAL MOMENT,’ HINTS AT FURTHER RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS

Rodríguez was formally sworn in as Venezuela's new leader on Jan. 5, just two days after U.S. forces extracted Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from their compound in Caracas in an early-morning military operation.

Maduro and Flores were taken into U.S. custody and flown to New York to face federal charges.

Maduro is charged with four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices. His wife is charged with three counts: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices.

TRUMP PLANS TO MEET WITH VENEZUELA OPPOSITION LEADER MARIA CORINA MACHADO NEXT WEEK

The White House has been working with Rodríguez in the weeks since Maduro was ousted. President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he spoke with Rodríguez by phone and praised her as a "terrific person."

"We discussed a lot of things and I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela," he said.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado criticized Rodríguez as the Trump administration engages with the Maduro ally, arguing she does not represent the Venezuelan people.

"I want to insist on this: Delcy Rodríguez, yes, she’s a communist. She’s the main ally and representation of the Russian regime, the Chinese and the Iranians, but that’s not the Venezuelan people and that’s not the armed forces, as well," Machado said at a Heritage Foundation event on Friday.

"So I am profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition. This is a complex phase we are in right now. Some of the dirty work is being done by them," she added. "But then, the result of a stable transition will be a proud Venezuela who is going to be the best ally the United States has ever had in the Americas."