US President Donald Trump said Iran had reached out seeking a negotiated settlement, even as the United States pressed ahead with fresh military strikes on Iranian targets.
The statement came according to audio of his remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One shared by the account "Clash Report."
Speaking to the press pool en route to Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, Trump suggested Iran's military options had been exhausted.
"We've already won militarily. They have very little, they have very little left," he said, adding that Tehran had been in touch with Washington. "And they want to make a deal so badly. They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so badly."
However, the President voiced scepticism over whether Iran could be trusted to follow through on any agreement. "I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know that they're going to honour the deal. That's the problem," he said.
Trump's comments came against the backdrop of an intensifying military campaign. Hours earlier, U.S. Central Command had confirmed additional strikes against Iran aimed at protecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, following a strike Trump described as retaliation for an Iranian attack on commercial vessels a day earlier.
Visuals shared on social media, including by Trump himself, had purported to show fires and explosions at sites in Iranshahr, Chabahar and Bushehr province, though none of the footage could be independently verified.
ALSO READ: 'It Will Get Much Worse': Trump Warns Iran Amid Fresh Strikes, Shares Footage
The remarks suggest a possible diplomatic track running in parallel with the ongoing strikes, even as Trump warned that any repeat of Iranian aggression would draw an even stronger American response.
A memorandum of understanding reached last month, brokered with the help of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had set out a 60-day ceasefire under which Iran committed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz while the US lifted a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
That truce unravelled this week after three commercial vessels were attacked in or near the strait on Tuesday, prompting Washington to revoke a sanctions waiver on Iranian oil sales and launch a fresh wave of strikes, which CENTCOM said had hit more than 80 targets including air defence systems and Revolutionary Guard vessels.
ALSO READ: Explosions In Chabahar, Bushehr As US Launches Fresh Iran Strikes Amid Hormuz Tensions — Videos
Iran's Revolutionary Guard retaliated with drone and missile strikes on US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, while Iranian officials said at least one person was killed and two injured in strikes on Khuzestan province.
At the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump had earlier declared the ceasefire "over," telling reporters "we hit them very hard last night, and we'll probably hit them hard again tonight," and renewed threats to target Iranian infrastructure including desalination and electric plants.
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