Washington: The United States launched a fresh wave of strikes on multiple targets in Iran, with President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warning Tehran that military pressure would continue unless it agreed to a nuclear deal with Washington.
The operation began at 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, when US Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out what it described as additional self-defence strikes at the direction of President Trump.
Speaking at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida after meeting CENTCOM commanders, Hegseth said military action would intensify. “Iran has a chance to make a good deal, a great deal, but they haven’t been willing to do it,” he said.
At the White House, Trump said months of negotiations had failed to produce an agreement. He urged Iran to sign what he called a strong deal that would permanently prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons.
The renewed strikes followed Iran’s reported downing of a US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter near Oman on Monday. Trump said the crew had been rescued safely and vowed further action.
“We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump said, adding that the US had come close to a deal but accused Iran of delaying negotiations.
CENTCOM said the strikes were launched in response to what it called Iran’s “unwarranted and continued aggression.” Earlier, the command announced that US forces had disabled a tanker allegedly transporting Iranian oil in violation of an American-led blockade. According to CENTCOM, precision munitions were fired into the engine room of the Palau-flagged tanker M/T Settebello after its crew repeatedly ignored instructions.
Hegseth said operations around the Strait of Hormuz remained central to US strategy and claimed that “Project Freedom” had enabled more than 100 million barrels of oil to pass safely through the waterway under American protection. “The United States controls the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, adding that CENTCOM had significantly weakened Iran’s military capabilities and warning of more strikes if necessary. Trump reiterated that Washington was pursuing both diplomacy and military action simultaneously, saying, “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t. All they have to do is sign the deal.” (IANS)
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