U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters aboard the presidential aircraft Air Force One, on his return from the NATO Summit in Ankara, stated that Iran had contacted him seeking to reach an agreement, following repeated U.S. strikes in the region, while insisting once again that the U.S. has already won in Iran, saying that “they have very little left and they want a deal so badly”.

“They called me a little while ago and they want to make a deal,” the U.S. president said. “I just don’t know if they’re worth making a deal with; I don’t know if they’ll honor it,” he added.

When asked why Iran attacked commercial ships if it wants to make a deal, Trump replied: “Because they’re kind of crazy, to be honest. It sounds crazy; they’re a little out of control, but they really want to make a deal.”

SEE ALSO: New wave of U.S. attacks on Iran: Tehran threatens “massive strikes” on bases

“Every time they hit us, we hit them 20 times,” Trump added. “We’ve hit them pretty hard. When they strike, we strike back much harder.”

When asked if the U.S. is returning to a full-scale military conflict with Iran, the U.S. president replied: “I don’t know. We have many ways to win, but we’ve already won militarily.”

“If it happens again, things will get much worse.”

Earlier, the U.S. president stated that the latest strikes by the U.S. armed forces were carried out in retaliation for what he described as an attack on ships by Iran a day.

“This is in retaliation for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, things will get much worse!” Trump wrote on social media, simultaneously posting a photo of the U.S. strikes on Iran.

“We may block the Strait of Hormuz again”

The new escalation in the Middle East continued for a second consecutive night, with forces from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) carrying out strikes against Iran, with the stated aim of “to further limit its ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” as the U.S. holds Iran responsible for the recent unprovoked attacks on commercial ships and crews sailing in the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that the temporary agreement to end the war with Iran “has expired” and warned that Washington plans to launch new strikes against Iran overnight, primarily targeting critical infrastructure such as the power grid and water supply facilities, while leaving open the possibility of continuing negotiations.

“We hit them very hard last night. We’ll probably hit them hard tonight, too. I’ll give them a little warning: we’re going to hit them hard tonight. But we’ll see how things play out,” he said.

Referring to the Strait of Hormuz, he stated that the United States may reinstate the naval blockade of the region, while noting that Washington may take control of Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf.

Iran: Enemies Will Be “Severely Punished”

Iranian officials reacted earlier to Trump’s threat to attack Kharg Island, while an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ebrahim Rezaei, warned that enemies would be “severely punished.”

Rezaei, who is also a spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, wrote on X: “Come on, we’re waiting for you, and we promise that not a single American soldier will return alive.”

Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran’s former foreign minister, criticized the “latest escalation,” stating on X that Iran has “warned in the past that ‘the region is no place for political games by small countries’” and that “it has its finger on the trigger.”

Furthermore, as reported by the state-run Press TV, citing a source familiar with the situation, Iran, for its part, threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in the event of new U.S. attacks against the country.

Source: skai.gr