US President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States is attacking Iranian capabilities related to the Strait of Hormuz, while indicating that "reaching an agreement with Tehran is possible," amid escalating military tensions between the two sides.

Trump added in remarks from the White House: "We are attacking Tehran's capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz. And we are eliminating its offensive capabilities." He continued: "I want to recover the costs of protecting the countries we help in the Strait of Hormuz."

In the same context, the US president said in an interview with the Hugh Hewitt show about Iran that the US military will strike Tehran strongly on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

Trump added that the United States will destroy the Pickaxe Mountain site in Iran, noting that "military operations against Iran may last from two to three weeks."

Pickaxe Mountain is a fortified underground Iranian nuclear site near Natanz, which could pave the way for Tehran to produce a nuclear bomb out of reach of air strikes.

For its part, the US Central Command announced late Monday that its forces had begun airstrikes against Iran for the third consecutive night, at the direction of President Trump.

Central Command added in a statement: "These strikes will continue to inflict heavy losses on Iranian forces and undermine their ability to attack civilians and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz."

"Military skirmish"

According to CNN, Trump described the renewed US bombing campaign against Iran on Monday as a "military skirmish," denying that it represents a new and prolonged phase in the conflict, even as he refrained from specifying how long it would last.

Trump said in response to questions from a CNN correspondent: "We have to do what we do. We have significantly reduced their capabilities, but they will fight for some time."

Trump also downplayed the open-ended nature of the war, even as it exceeded the timeline initially set by his administration for combat operations, which ranged from 4 to 6 weeks, saying: "We were in Vietnam for 19 years. We've been here for four months, so I think we've accomplished a lot."

The network reported that Trump provided few details on how he ultimately plans to end the war, and reiterated that he would eventually be able to negotiate a settlement with the Iranian regime.

Trump acknowledged that expectations for a near-term agreement are low, saying: "You have to find people who want to make something happen. We made a deal with them two days ago, then they said we can't finalize this deal. We have to negotiate it more," in his words.

Iranian attacks on ships

CNN quoted a US official as saying that "the United States is targeting Iranian military assets including coastal surveillance systems and capabilities related to drones and missiles," while Axios reported that US Central Command is planning to launch strikes lasting several days on Iran.

Iranian state television quoted the military earlier Monday as targeting a "hostile" US ship with cruise missiles. Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran targeted several vessels described as "violating" in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian media also reported explosions in the southern cities of Bandar Abbas and Konarak, and on the islands of Kish and Larak in the Strait of Hormuz.