Trump suggests Iran ceasefire still in place and negotiations going "very well"

US President Donald Trump suggested that a ceasefire between the US and Iran remains in place despite recent strikes in the region, while adding that negotiations have gone “very well.”

“A ceasefire there is much different than a ceasefire in other parts of the world,” CNN quoted Trump as saying in the Oval Office when asked if the fragile truce was holding.

He also seemed optimistic that Iran was "pretty close" to signing a deal, claiming it could happen over the weekend.

“The negotiation itself has gone very well — actually, very well — even if it happens, and it might not happen, but if it happens, it could happen like over the weekend,” he said.

Trump said there was “a reason” behind the US strikes and suggested Iran was “reciprocating” with its attacks.

CNN has reported that Iran said it targeted US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s foreign minister said they were “self-defense strikes” after the US military fired a missile to disable a Botswana-flagged oil tanker heading toward an Iranian port. Iran’s Navy said on Wednesday that it had targeted a US destroyer in the Gulf of Oman, which it described as the “command-and-control center” behind American attacks on Iranian commercial vessels. The US has denied the claim.