United States President Donald Trump has said the U.S. will launch a new wave of strikes against Iran, warning that the Middle Eastern nation would “have to pay the price” after negotiations over a peace deal failed to make progress.
The latest threat marks a significant escalation in tensions between the two countries and comes a day after the U.S. military carried out strikes on Iranian targets in retaliation for the reported shooting down of an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused Iran of delaying negotiations and missing an opportunity to reach an agreement with Washington.
“They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” he wrote.
Speaking later with reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the Republican president made it clear that further military action was imminent.
“Well, we’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard,” Trump said.
He added that the United States had already inflicted significant damage on Iranian targets and was prepared to continue its offensive.
“We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump said. “And we’ll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers.”
For several weeks, the U.S. president has maintained that Iran wants to reach an agreement with the United States, even as his administration insists that Tehran must dispose of its highly enriched uranium and abandon its nuclear weapons programme, conditions Iran has repeatedly rejected.
Iran has consistently maintained that giving up its uranium enrichment rights is non-negotiable, a position that has remained a major obstacle in the talks.
The U.S. president had previously indicated a willingness to endure prolonged negotiations, insisting that domestic political considerations would not influence his approach.
Recalling his position during an earlier engagement on May 27, Trump said Iran believed he would eventually soften his demands because of the 2026 midterm elections.
“‘We’ll outwait him. He’s got the midterms,’” Trump said. “I don’t care about the midterms.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the region, confirmed that American forces launched fresh strikes against Iran at about 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Military officials described the operation as a self-defence mission carried out in response to the attack on the American helicopter, adding that the two pilots on board escaped unharmed.
Iranian state media reported that the U.S. strikes targeted locations in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Qeshm Island, all situated near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.