Trump Vows to Attack Iran Very Hard as U.S. Strikes Multiple Targets

President Donald Trump said at the White House, “We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” as the United States began a fresh round of strikes against multiple targets in Iran overnight.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said the strikes began at 5:15 p.m., which was 12:45 a.m. in Tehran, and described them as “in response to Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression.”

Al-Yawm Al-Sabi'

Iran responded to the broader exchange with missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, while air defenses were activated in west Tehran, according to Mehr news agency.

The BBC reported that Centcom said forces had begun launching strikes at 17:15 Eastern Time (22:15 BST) against “multiple targets” in Iran, and that the U.S. also launched strikes on Tuesday after Trump said Iran had downed a U.S. Army helicopter.

The BBC added that Iranian state media said U.S. strikes hit two reservoirs in the area, leaving thousands of people in the southern port town of Sirik without access to drinking water for 12 hours.

Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X that Iran “will stand firm against any pressure or threat,” after Trump’s briefing in the Oval Office.

The BBC quoted Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqai accusing the U.S. of “damaging this diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends,” while the U.S. reiterated a call for Iran to “sign a deal.”

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In response to the reservoir strikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghei said, “This is not collateral damage -- it is a calculated war crime and a flagrant violation of human rights,” and the BBC reported a similar accusation that the U.S. violated international law.

The BBC also said a Qatar-mediated delegation landed in Tehran on Wednesday to hold talks on the latest developments, while SWI swissinfo.ch reported that “there are signs that diplomatic efforts continue.”

On the U.S. side, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that bombs would be “dropping on key facilities in Iran,” and the BBC said he added that the strikes would be “dropping on key facilities in Iran” after Trump said the U.S. would hit Iran “hard” again today.

The BBC said the U.S. is blockading Iranian ports after the Strait of Hormuz shipping route was effectively closed by Iran in response to U.S. and Israeli attacks on Tehran in February, and it linked the renewed exchange to the risk of a wider regional conflict.

The Japan Today report said the war has killed thousands and disrupted roughly one-fifth of the world's supply of oil and natural gas, sending prices sharply higher, and it cited oil prices rising nearly $3 to $94 per barrel after Trump’s threat of escalation.

SWI swissinfo.ch reported that the IAEA Board of Governors, comprising 35 countries, approved a U.S.-backed resolution urging Iran to declare its remaining stock of enriched uranium and allow inspectors to verify it, while Iran called the resolution political.

The BBC said Iran’s nuclear programme is central to negotiations between it and the U.S. and Israel, and it reported that the Iran Mission to the UN in Vienna criticized the move as supporting diplomacy while the U.S. simultaneously engages in further acts of aggression including against Iranian civilian infrastructure.

In parallel, the BBC said the fighting escalated quickly across the region with Lebanon drawn into the conflict in March, and it reported that Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 13 people while Hezbollah claimed fresh attacks against Israeli forces.