Donald Trump has unleashed a devastating new wave of strikes on Iran after vowing to make the Islamic Republic "pay the price" for the failed peace talks process.
On Wednesday evening, US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed that “multiple targets” inside the Middle Eastern country had been struck.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated in recent days after the Islamic Republic pulled out of peace negations and shot down a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement posted on social media, Centcom confirmed its forces “began launching additional self-defence strikes today at 5.15pm ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction".
The US military said the strikes were carried out "in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression".
Shortly before the strikes were launched, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters outside MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa that the US would hit Iranian targets "hard".
He said: “We will hit them hard on our terms, on the targets that improve the environment for us to operate in and undermine the capabilities that Iran wants to have.
“If we need to negotiate with bombs we will negotiate with bombs.”
Iran announced on Wednesday that it was abandoning peace negotiations, citing repeated American violations of the April ceasefire agreement.
Mr Trump held an emergency meeting with top national security advisers in the White House Situation Room as the administration prepared the fresh military action against Tehran.
According to Axios, those present included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the CIA director and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The President declared that Iran would "have to pay the price" for stalling negotiations and attacking American assets, hinting at potential strikes on infrastructure, including power stations and bridges.
The Iranian military had launched missile and drone assaults against US installations in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain on Tuesday evening, responding to earlier American attacks on Iranian positions near the Strait of Hormuz.
More to follow...
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