US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran has reached out directly to Washington and wants to make a deal, as he described the current state of the war as nearing its conclusion.
Asked how he would describe what phase of the war the US is in, Trump said: “Hopefully we are towards the end of the war.”
“They want to make a deal, and we’ll see how that works out,” he told reporters upon landing in North Carolina.
Asked whether he had heard from Iran directly or through intermediaries, Trump said he had heard from them directly.
The remarks came amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US over the Strait of Hormuz, despite a memorandum signed in June envisioning a deal to reopen the strategic waterway as a prelude to a wider peace agreement.
The US and Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran in February, targeting government buildings, military sites, missile infrastructure and air defenses, prompting Iranian missile and drone strikes against Israel and US bases across the region. The conflict has since expanded across the region, with diplomatic efforts continuing to end the hostilities.
