Trump's claim of direct talks with Iran false and a 'cover to escape war', IRGC says

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has flatly denied US President Donald Trump’s statement that Iran has contacted him directly to end the bombing.

In a statement early on Thursday, the IRGC’s public relations office said the US president’s claim is "a cover to escape war," News.Az reports, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.

Earlier, some local news agencies had also rejected the claim, citing security sources.

A report by Tasnim News Agency called the claim an "absolute lie" and said Iran will give a "crushing response" to what it described as the latest act of US military aggression against Iran.

Trump told a Fox News correspondent that Iran had called him and asked him to stop the bombing, adding that the bombing "will stop shortly."

According to Press TV, in the early hours of Thursday morning, fresh explosions were reported across parts of Iran’s Hormozgan province and other southern regions of the country, as the US military confirmed launching what the broadcaster called a new wave of unprovoked aggression against the Islamic Republic.

Reports say explosions were heard in the counties of Sirik and Qeshm in Hormozgan, while air defence systems became active on Qeshm Island.

The attack followed an earlier strike two days ago in the same region, which targeted, among other sites, two civilian water reservoirs in the coastal province, Press TV said, adding that shortly after the US military launched what it described as a fresh act of aggression against Iran early on Thursday, the IRGC Navy warned that any vessel approaching the strategic waterway would face decisive action.

News.Az