US President Donald Trump has said that Iranian leaders telephoned him directly and asked him to stop a bombing wave that was under way, AFP reports, citing Fox News.

Trump told Fox News in an interview that US forces had hit Iran with 49 Tomahawk missiles in its latest bombing raid.

If Iran does not accept US terms for ending the war, “we’ll bomb the S- out of them tomorrow night,” Trump said, according to Fox News reporter Trey Yingst.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards however quickly denied that Tehran had asked Trump to halt the bombing, the IRNA state news agency reported.

“Trump’s claim that Iranian officials have contacted him is strongly denied and is a cover for escaping war,” the Guards said.