US President Donald Trump on Monday said Iran "really wants to make a deal" and insisted that any agreement would be beneficial for the United States and its allies, even as tensions with Tehran remain high and talks appear to be stalled, report agencies.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump also attacked critics in Washington, blaming political opposition for complicating negotiations.

"But don't the Democrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans, understand that it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep negatively 'chirping'… that I should move faster, or move slower, or go to war, or not go to war," he wrote.

"Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us," Trump said in the Truth Social post.

"Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end — It always does!"

His remarks came as US-Iran tensions escalated over the weekend, with both sides reporting renewed air strikes near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route handling roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it carried out "self-defence strikes" targeting Iranian radar and drone command-and-control facilities in Goruk and on Qeshm Island.

In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck an air base used in the US operation.

Meanwhile, a report by Axios said Trump had sought changes to terms recently discussed by his negotiators with Iranian officials, citing unnamed US sources.

The report could not be independently verified.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that Washington and Tehran have been close to a deal since a ceasefire took effect in early April, though diplomatic progress has remained limited in recent weeks amid rising military tensions.

END/ASA

At least 34 people, including two babies were killed when a contraband fuel depot exploded into flames in southern Benin near the border with Nigeria on Saturday.

According to Beninese Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, “a serious fire occurred in the town of Seme Podji. Another 20 people were seriously wounded in the incident.”

"I can't really give you the cause of the fire, but there is a large gasoline warehouse here and cars, tricycles and motorcycles come from morning to evening,” he added.

Nigeria is a main oil and gas producer where fuel smuggling is very common along its borders, particularly when the government maintains a subsidy to keep fuel prices low.

The majority of the victims were burnt and they could not be not be identified.

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