President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has reached out to seek a deal once again after the deadly exchange.
According to Al Jazeera, after wrapping up the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said that Iran “badly” wanted to make a deal with the US.
This came after two days of attack exchange between the two sides that killed 14 people and wounded over 78 others in Iran following US strikes in the Strait of Hormuz and several cities, including Bushehr, Chabahar, Bandar Abbas, and Sirik.
Iran wants a ‘deal so badly’
Travelling back to the US from the NATO summit, the Republican president briefly talked to the reporters, revealing that Iranian leadership called him a while ago for a ceasefire deal following two nights of American strikes.
Aboard Air Force One, the 80-year-old said, “They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so badly. I just don't know if they're worthy of making it. I don't know that they're going to honour the deal. That's the problem.”
“Every time they hit us, we hit them 20. They did a little something today, but it was really retribution for last night… When they hit, we hit back much harder,” he continued.
Trump also noted that the recent exchange of strikes could escalate into a full-scale military confrontation, adding there were “many ways we can win, but we've already won militarily." Asked directly whether he believed the conflict could widen, he replied: “I don't know, but we are winning very quickly.”
Iran attacks ‘US strategic centres'
In response to US strikes, Iran targeted US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar for the second consecutive night.
Qatar’s prime minister has condemned attacks targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Araghchi “reviewed the latest developments regarding the military escalation between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past two days".
The foreign ministry stated, "The Qatari PM emphasised that such actions undermine confidence, threaten the security of international navigation, and damage efforts aimed at consolidating regional security and stability.”
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) earlier said that American forces had launched additional strikes against Iran aimed at further degrading its ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
