US President Donald Trump said he has held direct conversations with Iran and predicted the conflict between the two countries is "hopefully" approaching its end, according to reports from Al Jazeera, Fox News and Reuters.
The remarks were made on the campaign trail, where Trump also forecast that the fighting would soon conclude, CBN reported. He described the exchanges as direct, though few further details were given about when the purported talks took place or who took part.
The claim has drawn attention because it suggests a possible diplomatic channel between Washington and Tehran, even as the war continues. Al Jazeera framed the statement around the question of whether diplomacy is picking up again, while Bloomberg described the situation as a "little war" that had grown considerably larger.
Coverage of the president's comments has been split across outlets, with some focusing on the diplomatic signal and others on the scale of the ongoing military confrontation. CBN also reported that the US denied Palestinian access at the United Nations in a separate development on the same day.
No independent confirmation of direct talks has been reported in the material available, and the Iranian side has not been cited responding to Trump's claim.
What to watch next: whether Tehran confirms or denies that any direct contact occurred, and whether the US provides further detail on the status of the conflict.