WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that Iran would “pay the price” for not reaching a deal with the United States, as a new exchange of fire put a fragile ceasefire under severe strain and raised fears that the conflict could widen again around the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump told reporters at the White House that the U.S. had struck Iran and was prepared to do so again, saying, “We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them hard again today.” His comments followed U.S. strikes on Iranian targets after U.S. officials said an Iranian drone brought down an Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening. The two-member crew was rescued.
A ceasefire tested by new fire
The sequence of events is now central to the latest escalation. U.S. Central Command described the American strikes as a defensive response to the helicopter incident. Iran has not directly claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter, and CNBC reported that Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said no offensive military operations had been carried out in the strait in the previous 24 hours.
Iran said it retaliated for U.S. strikes by launching attacks targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. CBS News reported there were no immediate reports of impacts, only weapons interceptions. Euronews, citing regional statements, reported that Jordan said it shot down five missiles headed toward the Azraq area and that Bahrain said it intercepted missiles; Kuwait said its air defenses were engaging hostile aerial targets.
The renewed fire comes as diplomatic efforts remain unresolved. Trump had said earlier in the week that a deal could be reached within “two or three days,” but on Wednesday he said Tehran had taken too long. Reuters and Iranian state media, cited by CBS News, reported that Qatari negotiators had arrived in Tehran for talks, though the status of those efforts was unclear amid the strikes.
Why Hormuz matters
The confrontation is especially sensitive because it is playing out near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes. CBS News reported that traffic through the waterway has remained severely constrained during the standoff, and that a tanker carrying Iraqi crude was headed for Europe after leaving the Persian Gulf — the first such shipment since March, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler.
Markets reacted quickly to the risk of a broader conflict. CNBC reported that oil prices rose Wednesday after Trump’s threats and the U.S. strikes. Its separate intraday reports used different market snapshots, placing U.S. crude between $89.72 and $90.76 a barrel and Brent crude between $92.74 and $93.80. The figures point in the same direction: traders were pricing in renewed danger to Gulf energy flows.
Trump also used social media to tout a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and vessels, calling it highly effective and saying nothing gets through unless the United States allows it. CNBC reported, however, that JPMorgan analysts estimated some oil may still be moving through Hormuz on tankers with transponders switched off, underscoring the uncertainty around the blockade’s reach.
What remains unsettled
The immediate question is whether Washington and Tehran keep trading blows or return to negotiations. Trump’s public posture hardened sharply Wednesday, with threats of further attacks and claims that Iran’s military had been defeated. At the same time, reports of Qatari-mediated talks suggested that diplomacy had not entirely disappeared.
For now, the ceasefire that was meant to contain the war is under visible pressure. The next clear signal will come from whether either side carries out new strikes — or whether negotiators can restore enough space for talks before the conflict spreads further across the Gulf.
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