Trump says Iran called to make a deal after U.S. strikes
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press aboard the new Air Force One on July 8, 2026.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that he did not know whether Washington and Iran were heading for a full-fledged war, but told reporters that Iran “badly” wants to make a deal to end escalating hostilities in the Middle East.
Trump returned to Washington DC via England on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as it departed the United Kingdom’s Mildenhall Air Force Base, the president said American forces “just struck.” [Iran] very difficult.”
“I tell them we hit them 20 to 1; every time they hit us, we hit them 20 and we did that last night,” he said. “They did a little thing today, but it was actually revenge for last night… when they hit, we hit back much harder.”
Asked if the United States and Iran would return to a full-scale military conflict, Trump said, “I don’t know,” adding that if the war resumed, the United States would “win very quickly.”
“We have many ways to win, but militarily we have already won,” he said. “They have so little left, and they want to make a deal so bad. They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so bad. I don’t know if they’re worthy of a deal. I don’t know if they’ll take the deal. That’s the problem.”
CNBC has reached out to the Iranian government for a response to Trump’s comments.
Is the ceasefire ‘over’?
U.S. Central Command said its forces launched a new round of strikes on Wednesday aimed at “weakening Iran’s ability to attack commercial ships and innocent civilian sailors in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The strait, a waterway that is a critical shipping route for oil and other vital goods in the Middle East, has been a point of contention in negotiations aimed at ending the U.S.-Iran war. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz throughout most of the conflict led to increased energy costs; This has increased concerns about high inflation and central banks taking a hawkish stance.
On Tuesday, the US military launched a series of strikes against Iran in retaliation for the attack on three commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Later U.S. Treasury Department He withdrew the exemption that allowed Iran to sell its oil.
In the two operations, US forces hit approximately 170 Iranian military targets, according to Centcom.
Last month, Washington and Tehran confirmed they had agreed to a memorandum of understanding to end the war. But at a NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on Wednesday morning, Trump raised questions about the status of the fragile ceasefire between the two sides.
“I think it’s over,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question about the agreement during a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte.
“I don’t want to deal with them anymore… as far as I’m concerned, it’s all over,” he said of the Iranian government.
Trump said the Washington delegation wanted to negotiate a peace deal but saw it as a “waste of time” dealing with the Iranian side.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the US strikes were a violation of a memorandum of understanding reached less than four weeks ago.
In the statement, it was stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “stressed the determination of the Islamic Republic of Iran to defend Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and to punish the aggressors.”
Oil prices rose marginally along with global indicators on Thursday morning. Brent crude futures While September delivery remains above the $78 level, the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures It traded at $73.55.
