U.S. President Donald Trump (L) welcomes President of the Swiss Confederation Ueli Maurer at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 16, 2019. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday held back from further escalating tension with Iran.

When asked by a reporter at the White House on Thursday morning about whether the United States was going to war with Iran, Trump replied "I hope not."

Washington has piled up military pressure on Tehran over the past week by intensifying deployment including an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following U.S. intelligence information revealing "an escalating of threatening actions" from Iran.

U.S. hawks on Iran, led by National Security Adviser John Bolton, have reportedly advocated to confront Iran while Trump himself has showed restraint on further escalating the situation.

Trump told his acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Wednesday that he does not want to go to war with Iran, reported The New York Times on Thursday, citing several anonymous administration officials.

Also on Thursday, Trump met with Swiss Confederation President Ueli Maurer at the White House, whose country acts as a protecting power for the United States in Iran as the diplomatic ties between Washington and Tehran were cut off decades ago.

Their meeting has been seen by U.S. media as a sign that Trump was likely to seek dialogue with Tehran.

Trump and Maurer discussed "a range of international issues" during their talks, including the crises in the Middle East and in Venezuela, according to a White House statement released after the meeting.

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday called the U.S. government a "bully" trying to force all other countries to do something "illegal," according to Press TV.

There is not any prospect of negotiation with the United States, Zarif noted.

Over the recent weeks, Washington has ratcheted up pressure against Tehran with a series of sanctions, designations and military threats, following Washington's year-long campaign against Iran after U.S. exit from the landmark Iran nuclear deal in May last year.