Trump says US will 'probably' hit Iran 'hard' again tonight
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump has warned of more strikes on Iran, hours after declaring that a ceasefire with Tehran was over. "We hit them very hard last night...Probably hit them hard again tonight. I'll give him a little warning. We're going to hit him hard tonight," Trump said at a meeting with Ukrianian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara. "They are behaving very badly," he said, accusing Tehran of attacking ships.
Diplomatic tensions
US not seeking regime change in Iran, says Trump
He also reiterated that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. Trump accused Iran of violating agreements daily and said he was unhappy with their actions. He said while the two parties would talk about denuclearization during meetings, Iran would go into news conferences and announce, "We never even talked about it." "They're cuckoo. There's something wrong with these people," he said. He clarified that Washington wasn't seeking regime change in Iran but insisted on preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Ceasefire terminated
Diplomatic engagement could continue, says Trump
Earlier in the day, Trump announced that the ceasefire with Iran was "over." He said diplomatic engagement could continue despite escalating tensions. However, he expressed skepticism about further negotiations, calling them a "waste of time." "I'll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don't see it. I don't like these people," Trump said. The latest escalation comes after Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route.
Retaliatory strikes
Conflict escalates after large-scale US-Israeli strikes on Iran
In response, the US launched fresh airstrikes on Iran on Tuesday. The US Central Command (Centcom) said that American forces struck over 80 targets with "precision munitions as an immediate response to Iran's latest attacks on commercial vessels transiting....Hormuz." The operation was "four or five times bigger in scope and power" than previous strikes conducted 10 days ago. Iran hit back, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claiming it had targeted 85 US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.