After Recent Attacks.. Trump: Iran Requested a Deal

SadaNews - U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that the Iranians have contacted Washington in an effort to reach an agreement, asserting that the recent U.S. strikes on Tehran were in response to a much larger attack on commercial ships.

Trump clarified, in remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One, that the Iranians "called a little while ago," adding: "They want to make a deal."

He stated that the U.S. strikes carried out on Wednesday were a response 20 times greater than the Iranian attacks on commercial vessels, adding: "We hit them very hard. And when they attacked, we responded with even greater force."

In a post on the "Truth Social" platform, Trump wrote that the strikes on Iran were in response to the attacks on the vessels, warning that the situation "will get worse" if Tehran takes further actions.

Trump's remarks come after Washington announced an expansion of its strikes against targets inside Iran, including military sites, ports, and capabilities linked to threats to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced today, Thursday, that the U.S. military completed, on Wednesday, July 8, a new round of military strikes against Iran, aimed at undermining its ability to target commercial ships and civilian sailors in the Strait of Hormuz.

The command stated that U.S. forces targeted about 90 Iranian military sites, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance facilities, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along the Iranian coast.

It also added that these strikes followed the execution of offensive strikes described as successful within Iran the night before.

CENTCOM clarified that its forces had targeted on July 7 about 80 Iranian military sites, including more than 60 boats belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in an effort to impose a "heavy cost" on Tehran after what it described as a violation of the ceasefire by attacking three commercial ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. Central Command confirmed that its forces remain in a state of full alert and are ready to carry out any operations directed by the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, while both sides exchange accusations of violating the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 to end the war that began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.