United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that military action against Iran was "absolutely" possible if talks failed to produce a deal, adding that there was "not much time" to reach an agreement on its nuclear program.

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"If necessary, absolutely," Trump told reporters when asked if military action was an option. "If it requires military, we're going to have military. Israel will obviously be very much involved in that, be the leader of that."

Trump said he wants Iran to thrive, but he won't allow Tehran to have nuclear weapons. 

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Iran can't have nuclear weapon 

“We’re not going to let them have a nuclear weapon. I want them to thrive. I want Iran to be great. The only thing they can’t have is a nuclear weapon. They understand that" he said today in the Oval Office. 

As the US and Iran are set to hold direct nuclear talks, Trump provided no timeline for when he would like to see a favourable conclusion. However, he said the US would take military action if necessary.

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“If it requires military (action), we’re going to have military (action.) Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They’ll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us. We do what we want to do,” he added.

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US strikes on Yemen

According to Yemen's Huthi media, the death toll from an air strike on Hodeida the day before that they blamed on the US had risen to 12 people.

"The death toll rose to 12, including six women and four children, after the massacre perpetrated by the American enemy" in Hodeida province, the Huthis' Al-Masirah TV channel said on Wednesday. 

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The Houthi health media said the strike had targeted a residential area in the western province. Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had downed a US drone, targeted an Israeli military site in the Tel Aviv area and launched drones at the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.

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(With inputs from agencies)