President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran again as tensions flared after Washington and Tehran exchanged fresh fire into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“Well, we’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them hard again today.”
Trump then reiterated his desire for the U.S. and Iran to reach a “deal that is meaningful,” but accused Tehran of “playing us for suckers.”
The President’s remarks came hours after he said Tehran had “taken too long to negotiate a deal” and will now “have to pay the price.”
Describing Iran’s military as a “complete and total mess,” Trump argued they have “been completely defeated… Iran is all talk and no action. The bully of the Middle East is dead.”
Hostilities have flared since the downing of a U.S. Army helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a sea drone rescue mission for two uninjured crew members.
Trump said on Tuesday that the AH-64 Apache had been shot down by Iran and vowed to respond.
The U.S. then launched a series of “self-defense strikes against Iran… a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.” U.S. forces targeted air defense, ground control, and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
Iran dismissed Trump’s statement about the helicopter being downed, referring to it as “false pretext” for U.S. aggression, in a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency.
Tehran retaliated with a drone attack on the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a missile attack on a U.S. airbase in Jordan, state media reported.
Jordan said it intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran, potentially disputing the claims from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that Iranian forces had destroyed four critical targets at the base. In total, the IRGC claimed that it hit 21 targets at U.S. bases across the region, and shot down a U.S. drone over Iranian airspace.
On Wednesday, CENTCOM announced it had also fired on an oil tanker attempting to transport oil from Iran Tuesday night, citing a violation of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.
TIME has reached out to CENTCOM and the Pentagon for further information.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior urged civilians to seek shelter and await updates via official channels at the height of the strikes. The General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces said the country’s air defense had intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran towards the Al-Azrag area.
Kuwait’s Armed Forces also confirmed missiles entering its airspace early Wednesday, local time, stating that air defenses were “currently intercepting hostile aerial targets” and urging residents to adhere to safety and security protocols.
Kuwait houses a number of U.S. military installations. Its Ali Al Salem Air Base, which hosts the U.S. Air Force, was targeted by Iran early on in the war. Six U.S. soldiers were killed while stationed at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, in March.
During the Iranian barrage of strikes, the IRGC warned that should the U.S. respond, “more severe and widespread attacks will be carried out against the designated targets in the region.”
World leaders urge restraint and de-escalation
Global leaders have called for a swift return to diplomatic negotiations.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian expressed deep concern and encouraged all parties to “remain calm, exercise restraint, stop exacerbating confrontation, and escalating tensions.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova advocated for a return to peace-seeking measures, stressing the “need to resolve the current crisis around Iran solely through diplomatic means.”
António Costa, president of the European Council, said he had spoken with Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al-Sabah, expressing solidarity with the Gulf state following Iran’s strikes. “Diplomacy is the only way to achieve security and stability in the Middle East—the E.U. calls on all parties to remain engaged on the diplomatic track,” he said.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry condemned Iran’s strikes, calling them “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of these countries and a flagrant breach of international law.”
The UAE also rebuked Iran’s actions as “terrorist and unprovoked,” insisting that the strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan constituted “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the three brotherly nations and a threat to their security and stability.”
Egyptian officials echoed that stance, arguing Iran’s far-reaching response represented “a highly dangerous escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region as a whole.”
The status of the U.S.-Iran peace deal talks remains uncertain in light of the renewed hostilities.
Furthermore, Iran has yet to make major concessions related to its nuclear capabilities and desire to manage naval navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan’s envoy to the United Nations Asim Iftikhar Ahmad expressed concern in an address to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.
“The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous cease-fire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to,” he said, reaffirming his country’s support for a settlement through diplomacy.
Pakistan has served as one of the primary mediators for the slow-moving negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Islamabad hosted in-person peace talks in April, shortly after the fragile cease-fire was announced.
The U.S. delegation was led by Vice President J.D. Vance, but parties walked away from the hours-long discussions without a deal.
There had been plans for Vance to return for a second round of in-person discussions, but Trump pulled them back amid stalled progress, with Washington and Tehran failing to align on key issues.
