ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that if a deal is not reached with Iran, it will become clear whether Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s warning of a prospective regional war proves true.

The 86-year-old Iranian leader warned in a speech earlier on Sunday that if the US attacks the country “it will be a regional war.”

“We are not the initiators and do not want to attack any country, but the Iranian nation will strike a firm fist against anyone who attacks and harasses them,” he said.

“Of course he is going to say that,” Trump told reporters when asked about Khamenei’s warning, adding, “Hopefully we'll make a deal. If we don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right."

In an interview with CNN aired Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that he sees a possibility of engaging in dialogue with Washington regarding the country’s nuclear program, despite having "lost trust in the United States as a negotiating party.”

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene and respond to Iran’s deadly crackdown on protesters and has expressed hope of reaching a deal regarding the country's nuclear and ballistic programs despite heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.

While Iran remains under heavy international sanctions and pressure over its nuclear program, it has repeatedly said that its ballistic missile program is “not subject to negotiation,” insisting on its right to defend the country, as well as its right to pursue the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

“You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons… They should do that, but I don’t know that they will. They are talking to us—seriously talking,” the US president said.

The US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, and its accompanying strike group have gathered in the Middle East amid the ongoing tensions, with Trump having repeatedly spoken of a "massive armada" en route to Iran.