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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. military said Wednesday it has begun another round of strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump said more were coming. The escalating attacks threatened to derail efforts to end the war, with Trump warning that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations.
“We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump said, adding: “We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers, because — you know what? — they dealt with some very stupid presidents.”
U.S. Central Command said in a social media post that the military was striking “multiple targets in Iran,” attacks that were “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”
The second day of American strikes came hours after Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan — all of which host U.S. troops — came under Iranian fire. It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have tested a two-month ceasefire. They also came a day after the U.S. struck Iran after the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic. Iranian officials have neither admitted nor denied shooting down the helicopter.
With no end to the turmoil in the Middle East, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres lamented Wednesday that the ceasefire announced in April “is more like a lesser-fire, as we have seen with the escalating attacks and rhetoric over the last 48 hours.” Speaking to the Security Council, he pleaded with all parties to negotiate a lasting peace agreement and warned that the ongoing attacks could mushroom into a wider war.
Trump has urged Iran to sign a deal to end the war and suggested earlier this week that an agreement could be reached in a matter of days.
On Wednesday, Iranian media reported that explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas, Sirik and Minab in the south of the country.
Iran has proved resilient despite weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.
Iran’s United Nations envoy said the U.S. should refrain from threats of force if it wants a deal.
“Iran has never negotiated under threats and pressure and will never submit to pressure or question,” Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.
‘SECRET’ HORMUZ MISSION
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing goals that make compromise harder: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.
Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with Feb. 28 attacks on Iran, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices worldwide, and made food and other basics more expensive.
The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.
Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. military has since last month undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak oil shipments past Iran’s forces in the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping through at night, aided by the destruction of Iranian radar equipment.
Trump said as a result more than 100 million barrels of oil have evaded Iran’s chokehold on the strait. There was no immediate confirmation of that figure, which roughly equals five days of oil shipments through the waterway before the war began.
The military’s role was not immediately clear. Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesman, said U.S. forces “communicate and coordinate” with commercial ships in the area, but gave no details on military support being offered.
U.S. STRIKES
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. military said an American aircraft fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged vessel MT Settebello as it attempted to breach the naval blockade with a shipment of Iranian oil. It was the eighth merchant vessel disabled by U.S. forces in waters off Iran.
India’s foreign ministry said three Indian sailors were missing after the Settebello was struck, while 21 others were rescued. Its statement did not mention the U.S. military or the blockade.
Hawkins of U.S. Central Command said American forces warned the crew before firing on the ship.
The U.S. military said strikes earlier Wednesday targeted “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites.”
Iran said U.S. strikes hit two water reservoirs in the southern city of Sirik, temporarily cutting off water to thousands of people. U.S. Central Command had no immediate comment.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei accused the United States of deliberately striking civilian infrastructure that supplied drinking water to more than 20,000 residents in 10 villages. He called it “a calculated war crime” and a violation of international humanitarian law.
During the summer, Hormozgan province is among the hottest places on Earth, with temperatures that can reach 122 degrees. The CEO of the regional water company, Abdolhamid Hamzehpour, said that temperatures in the province were “unbearable” without water and that the damage had been repaired in less than 12 hours, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
Tehran later also claimed attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
Jordan said it shot down five incoming missiles, which Iran said targeted an air base hosting American military aircraft.
Bahrain and Kuwait said they intercepted incoming fire.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the American attacks as a violation of Iranian sovereignty. Baghaei said in televised comments that, after the new attacks, Iran would review its stance on negotiations to end the war.
Efforts to mediate a deal continued. After consultations with the U.S., a delegation from Qatar arrived in Tehran for talks on Wednesday, according to an official with knowledge of the visit who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
PEACE DEAL SNAGS
Wary of high gas prices in the run-up to congressional elections in November, Trump has an incentive to seek a quick win. But he is also making demands that will be tough for Iran to swallow.
The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, that uranium is a short technical step from weapons-grade levels.
Iran is refusing to give up the uranium and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something Trump rejected.
It’s not clear how those differences can be bridged. In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump said Iran was taking “too long to negotiate a deal” and “now they will have to pay the price!!!”
Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel. Israel has instead intensified its military campaign against the Lebanon-based militant group.
An airstrike on a village east of Tyre killed at least six people in recent days, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. It said two others were killed by an Israeli drone strike on a car in the southern city of Sidon.
Information for this article was contributed by Will Weissert, Edith M. Lederer, Natalie Melzer, David Rising, Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Russ Bynum and Hannah Schoenbaum of The Associated Press; and by Lara Jakes, Leo Sands, Adam Rasgon and Max Bearak of The New York Times.
A projectile streaks through the sky over central Israel during an Iranian missile attack, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)A cleric checks his cell phone on stage in front of a screen displaying portraits of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a pro-government gathering in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier under missile attack in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)A man runs past burning cars following an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
