'Won militarily': Trump claims Iran is seeking another deal with US, boasts about latest strikes

As the United States escalates its strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump claimed that top officials from Tehran have contacted the US seeking another deal. The remarks from the American leader came while he was speaking to reporters on board Air Force One. When asked if he is considering that option, Trump questioned whether Tehran could be trusted to uphold any agreement.

The American president went on to boast about the country's military might, saying that the US had already “won militarily” and that there were “many ways” to achieve victory. "There are many ways we can win it. We already won militarily, and they have a little left, and they want to make a deal so badly. They called a little while ago; they want to make a deal so badly," he told journalists on Air Force One.

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"I just do not know if they are worthy of making a deal. I do not know if they can honour the deal; that is the problem," Trump said. He reiterated that the goal of the US operation in Iran is "de-nuking" the West Asian nation. "It's really not a war so much. It's a de-nuking of Iran. De-nuclearisation of Iran," he said.

"So this is all about taking nuclear weapons, not allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons. And everybody should like that," he furthered. Trump later repeated his claim that he has ended eight wars during his time as the President of the United States. It is pertinent to note that the remarks from Trump came just hours after the US conducted a fresh wave of strikes against Iran.

US ramps up its attack on Iran

The Iranian state media on Wednesday reported that the explosion rocked the port city of Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz; in Sirik, another southern coastal city; and the south-western Bushehr province, home to Iran’s nuclear-power-plant complex.

Visuals also started to circulate online of an explosion in Chabahar. Trump took to his social media platform, TruthSocial, to react to the strike. “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” he wrote in the post. Meanwhile, the US Central Command (Centcom) also confirmed the strikes in a post on X.

“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to degrade further their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom wrote in a post on X. “The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway," it furthered.

It is pertinent to note that the Wednesday night strikes were expected to be bigger than those carried out on Tuesday, an unnamed US official told Reuters. Meanwhile, the Iranian state TV reported that further explosions were heard on Abu Musa Island. The island is one of three small islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates which provide the backbone of Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz.