President Donald Trump said he would stop bombing Iran after speaking directly with its leaders but promised to “bomb the s*** out of them” again Thursday night if no deal is reached.
Fox News’s Trey Yingst said Trump told him Iran would face continued strikes if it refused to sign an agreement put forth by the United States. The president also provided some details on Wednesday’s strikes, saying 49 Tomahawk missiles had been used to hit targets, some as close as 40 miles from Tehran.
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U.S. Central Command said the strikes targeted “military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites” across Iran.
“U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy assets fired precision munitions on Iranian targets that posed a threat to U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters. The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression,” CENTCOM added.
The completion of the strikes comes after the United States launched a slew of attacks on Iran following Trump’s complaints earlier in the day that Tehran was not making a deal quickly enough. When Trump was asked if the ceasefire was still in effect, he said it was the “most violated ceasefire in the history of the world,” Yingst said.
“U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression,” U.S. Central Command said.
Trump earlier Wednesday lamented Iran’s “tap-tap-tap” diplomacy after an Army Apache attack helicopter was shot down while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.
“It was just tap, tap, tap. I don’t know what they’re doing, so they then shot at our helicopter, very expensive helicopter, by the way, but much more importantly, the two men,” he said. “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.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previewed the attacks earlier in the day, saying the U.S. would “hit Iran hard” on Wednesday evening.
“CENTCOM will be busy tonight because we are going to hit Iran hard,” Hegseth said on Wednesday. “Iran has a chance to make a great deal. They haven’t been willing to do it. … They are going to have tap-tap-tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the U.S. — it is not to restart the war but to set the terms for a deal.”
WHO IS MORE DESPERATE FOR A DEAL: TRUMP OR IRAN?
The U.S. struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday as a result of the Apache shootdown, CENTCOM said. Iran responded with a missile and drone launch targeting U.S. assets in the region, though no damage to those targets was reported.
Wednesday’s attacks are the latest in a series of back-and-forths that call into question whether a ceasefire is still holding in the war, as Iran and the U.S. have now traded blows on consecutive days. Trump has nevertheless maintained that the April 7 ceasefire is still in effect.
