US President Donald Trump said that he believes the US and Iran will still reach a “very good” deal after the US struck Iran, in a phone call with ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl just before US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the strikes Tuesday evening, ABC News reported.
CENTCOM wrote in their announcement that the strikes were “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” in reference to the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.
Multiple other US officials echoed the sentiment that the strikes would not impede negotiations to different news outlets.
Trump tells ABC 'response should be very strong, very powerful''
Trump spoke with ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl on a call just before CENTCOM announced the strikes on Iran, ABC News reported.
"I think it's very important to respond. They shot down a helicopter, and we are responding as we speak," ABC News cited Trump as saying to Karl. "This is a response to what they did with our helicopter last night, and I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that's what this one is."
Trump added that the US has a deal that "was very good, and probably will [still be]," according to ABC News.
A warning shot, not a deal-breaker
CNN cited a US official as saying that the strikes were intended as a warning shot, with the US believing they would not get in the way of negotiations to end the war.
POLITICO cited a senior White House official as saying that a deal with Iran was “still close,” drawing a distinction between military action and negotiations.
“A helicopter was downed yesterday. We have to respond in kind, but at the same time, there’s still a deal trying to be negotiated. So, two things can happen at the same time,” POLITICO quoted the official as saying.
Iranian officials threaten retaliation
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote that Iranian forces would "leave no attack or threat unanswered" in a post on X.
"Leave our region if you want to be safe," Araghchi added.
This came after an earlier post in which Araghchi warned that any foreign military personnel in proximity to Iranian territory are "at constant risk" and should leave the area "as soon as possible."
Araghchi asserted that while Iran "prefers the language of diplomacy," its armed forces remain “on constant alert for any violation of Iran's airspace, land, or waters.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf echoed this sentiment, writing that while Iran “prefers the language of diplomacy,” it spoke “other languages far more fluently,” in a post on X Tuesday afternoon.
“Break your commitments, and we’ll switch to what we speak best,” Ghalibaf added.
Goldie Katz contributed to this report.