As the United States and Iran exchange military threats day after day over control of the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 8th (local time) that Iran had contacted him to seek negotiations.
According to BBC and other outlets, Trump met reporters aboard Air Force One (the presidential aircraft) on his return to Washington after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit and said, "Iran just called and said it is eager to negotiate."
He added, "But I cannot be sure whether Iran is qualified to negotiate or whether it will keep an agreement," noting, "That is the problem."
Asked why he thought Iran attacked merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz while saying it wanted negotiations, Trump condemned Iran strongly, calling it "insane behavior."
He said, "Every time Iran attacks us, we hit back 20-fold," and claimed, "Today, too, Iran carried out a small-scale attack, but it was retaliation for last night's U.S. airstrikes."
However, it was not confirmed whether Iran actually contacted Trump. Germany's DPA news agency reported, "Trump has repeatedly mentioned that there had been a conversation or call that the other side later denied in whole or in part."
In response to Iran's attacks on merchant ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the United States has continued airstrikes for a second day since the day before, targeting major military facilities in Iran's southern coastal region.
In turn, Iran also carried out retaliatory attacks targeting major U.S. military facilities in Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.