U.S. launches more strikes on Iranian targets after Trump promises to hit Iran "hard"
The U.S. military launched an additional round of strikes on targets within Iran early Thursday morning local time, U.S. Central Command said, hours after President Trump vowed to hit Iran "hard" in a bid to force the country to agree to a deal on the administration's terms.
CENTCOM said on X that it hit "multiple targets in Iran ... in response to Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression." It described the strikes as self-defensive. The operation targeted key Iranian facilities such as ammunition depots, command-and-control nodes and warehouses, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the airstrikes.
Iranian media outlets reported that explosions were heard or air defenses were activated in multiple cities, including Bandar Abbas, a port city in southern Iran that abuts the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's military early Thursday morning declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all traffic, including commercial vessels and oil tankers. Mr. Trump has pressed to reopen the strait, a key oil industry chokepoint that has been largely closed for months.
The latest strikes could put new stress on an already brittle two-month-old ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, which has prevented most large-scale attacks but hasn't stopped the two countries from exchanging fire.
In an earlier salvo on Wednesday, the U.S. struck nearly 20 targets inside Iran in retaliation for Iran's downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz this week. Iran then launched drones at several U.S. allies in the region. It was the latest flare-up between the two countries, though the Trump administration has insisted the ceasefire is still in place.
For weeks, Iranian and American negotiators have held indirect negotiations on extending their ceasefire, ending a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and launching talks on the thorny longer-term question of Iran's nuclear program. But a deal has proven elusive. Iran's foreign ministry accused the U.S. earlier Wednesday of sending contradictory messages and "damaging the diplomatic process" with the strikes.
Mr. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that "we're going to hit them hard again today," accusing Iran of "playing us for suckers" and refusing to strike an agreement with the U.S. He said on social media Iran has "taken too long to negotiate a deal," and "now they will have to pay the price."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the goal of the latest round of strikes is to force Iran to the negotiating table.
"If we need to negotiate with bombs, we'll negotiate with bombs. And we're very good at it," he said.
