U.S. launches second night of strikes on Iran as Pentagon warns of "hard" retaliation

U.S. launches second night of strikes on Iran as Pentagon warns of "hard" retaliation

Washington — The United States launched a second consecutive night of airstrikes on Iran on Wednesday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced, warning that American forces would “hit Iran hard” to pressure Tehran into accepting a new nuclear deal. Speaking from CENTCOM headquarters in Florida, Hegseth told reporters that U.S. Central Command would be “busy tonight,” confirming that key Iranian facilities—including radar and air defence sites near the Strait of Hormuz—were being targeted in retaliation for Tuesday’s downing of a U.S. helicopter and Iran’s subsequent missile and drone strikes on American bases in the region.

Hegseth framed the operation as calibrated to avoid civilian casualties while demonstrating resolve. “Iran has a chance to make a great deal,” he said. “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.” The strikes follow a Tuesday evening attack on Iranian radar and air defence systems, which Washington described as a proportional response to the helicopter incident. Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted a military source as vowing “heavy responses,” while President Ebrahim Raisi dismissed U.S. threats as “desperation” rather than strength.

The escalation comes amid a two-week standoff in negotiations, with President Trump accusing Iran of “playing us for suckers” and deciding that military pressure was necessary to break the deadlock. Trump convened an emergency meeting with his national security team on Wednesday, including Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, to discuss further options. U.S. officials told Axios that one potential course of action under consideration was a large-scale but short-duration strike aimed at compelling Iran to alter its negotiating stance.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes as a “calculated war crime,” alleging that U.S. bombs deliberately targeted two water reservoirs, leaving 20,000 people without drinking water. Danny Citrinowicz, a former head of Israeli military intelligence’s Iran branch, warned that the tit-for-tat strikes risked sliding into broader conflict. “If Washington is unwilling to accept that reality, it should recognize the likely alternative: continued confrontations with Iran that could eventually spiral beyond anyone’s control,” he said.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Katz cautioned that the conflict with Iran was “far from over,” underscoring regional concerns that the latest escalation could draw in other actors. Meanwhile, European diplomats expressed unease over Hegseth’s rhetoric, with some officials privately describing the strikes as counterproductive to de-escalation efforts.