WASHINGTON, Jan 24, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump said Thursday he hoped to avoid military strikes on Iran's nuclear program, an option long mulled by Israel.

Asked if he would support military action against Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump told reporters he was going to speak to unspecified "very high-level people" about the issue.

"That could be worked out without having to worry about it," Trump said of the Iranian nuclear issue.

"It would be really nice if that could be worked out without having to go that further step," he said of military action.

On diplomatic prospects with Iran, Trump said, "Iran hopefully will make a deal -- and if they don't make a deal, I guess that's OK, too."

Trump during his first term withdrew from a nuclear deal negotiated under former president Barack Obama and imposed sweeping sanctions, winning praise from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who calls Tehran's cleric-run government an existential threat.

Trump, who vowed "maximum pressure" on Iran, also ordered a 2020 strike that killed senior Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

But Trump backed off on calls for wider military action and, since winning another term, has distanced himself from advisors who chose a hawkish course on Iran.

According to The New York Times, Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and Trump confidante, met a senior Iranian official after the election to seek to defuse tensions.