WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday (Jul 13) said a deal with Iran was still possible as the US military launched a fresh salvo of attacks for the third night in a row and reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports."We're going to hit them very hard tonight, and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow," Trump said at the White House on Monday.He added that the US strikes were aimed at knocking out Iran's offensive capability."Yeah, I think a deal is possible. Sure, I do," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We had a deal with them two days ago and then they said 'Oh we can't make that deal. We have to negotiate it further'."The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said strikes had begun at 8.45pm GMT (4.45am, Tuesday, Singapore time), adding that they would "continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz".The reimposed blockade would begin at 8pm GMT on Tuesday (4am, Wednesday, Singapore time), CENTCOM said, as oil prices shot up more than nine per cent after both sides traded attacks, raising fears of renewed conflict.Trump told reporters that he wants Gulf nations to reimburse the United States for helping protect the Strait of Hormuz.