President Donald Trump on Thursday said Tehran was reaching out to the United States about making a deal amid US ⁠and Israeli strikes on Iran, adding that further action to reduce pressure on oil was imminent.

"They're calling, they're saying 'how do we make a deal?' I said you're being a little bit late," said Trump, speaking at an event with the Inter Miami soccer team at the White House.

Trump touted the US military actions in Iran, saying they were destroying Tehran's missile and drone capability and that "their navy is gone - 24 ships in three days."

The US military said on Thursday it has sunk over 30 Iranian ships so far.

Ballistic missile attacks by Iran have decreased by 90 percent since the first day of the war, US Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads US forces in the Middle East as the head of Central Command, told reporters.

But Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has insisted that his country is not requesting a ceasefire with the United States and Israel, and does not see any reason to negotiate with Washington.

He made the remarks in an interview with US broadcaster NBC News aired on Thursday.

"We are not asking for a ceasefire, and we don't see any reason why we should negotiate with the United States when we negotiated with them twice, and every time, they attacked us in the middle of the negotiations," Araghchi said.

Trump also said that while oil had "pretty much stabilised," he said further action to reduce pressure on it was imminent.

The US Treasury Department is expected to announce measures as soon as Thursday aimed at combating rising energy prices, including potential action involving the oil futures market, a senior White House official said earlier on Thursday.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Trump said he was not concerned about rising US gas prices driven by the widening Iran conflict.

"I don't have any concern about it," he said, when asked about the higher prices at the pump. "They'll drop very rapidly when this ⁠is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit."

Trump said he was not looking to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the largest emergency crude stockpile in the world, and that he was confident the Strait of Hormuz, the critical channel for oil shipping near Iran, will remain open because Iran's navy is at the "bottom of the sea."

Global oil prices have jumped 16 percent since the war started on Saturday, as the spreading conflict disrupted Middle East supplies. (Reuters/ Xinhua)



Edited by Cecil Wong