The United States launched fresh military strikes against multiple targets in Iran on Wednesday, escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran as President Donald Trump intensified pressure on Iran to agree to a deal.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a post on X that the military had begun “launching additional self-defence strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction”.
The military said the operations were “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression”.
According to Reuters, citing Iranian media outlets, the state-run IRNA news agency said explosions in Qeshm and Hengam were caused by projectile impacts of a military nature.
IRNA also reported that several explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas near the city's airport and airbase.
Mehr News Agency said multiple explosions had been reported in the southern Iranian port city of Kangan, while Press TV reported that a location in Sirik had been struck by what it described as “enemy” projectiles.
Mehr also reported clashes at sea between Iranian and U.S. forces.
The latest military action followed comments by Trump earlier in the day in which he warned that further strikes were imminent unless Tehran agreed to negotiations.
“We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them hard again today,” Trump said during a White House signing ceremony for the Secure America Act. “We’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard.”
Trump reiterated his call for Iran to reach an agreement with Washington, saying the United States wanted a deal “that’s meaningful and works”.
“We’ll see what happens with the deal,” Trump said.
Iranian officials responded with warnings of broader consequences if the conflict continues to escalate. Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran’s parliament, wrote on X that “this time, the war won’t be limited to the region.”
The exchange of threats came after Trump earlier warned on Truth Social that Iran had delayed negotiations for too long and would “pay the price” amid rising military tensions.
“Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess,” Trump wrote on Wednesday morning. “Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore - They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action.”
The latest strikes follow military action on Tuesday when U.S. forces targeted Iranian positions after what CENTCOM described as “in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter”.
