US, Iran exchange fire

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Iran has taken too long to negotiate a deal over the conflict in the Middle East and will now 'have to pay the price.' Trump's social media post, in which he asserted that the Iranian military has been 'completely defeated,' came after the United States and Iran exchanged fire, straining a ceasefire that took effect in April. 'The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They've taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Separately, Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst in a phone interview that because peace talks have failed to make progress, he is getting closer to targeting Iran's power plants and bridges. 'I may keep going,' Trump was quoted by Fox as saying. 'They had a chance to sign a deal and survive.' It marked a contrast with his comments to reporters on Tuesday that negotiations on an enduring settlement to end the war were in their 'final throes,' and could be wrapped up in 'two or three days.'
In another social post on Wednesday, Trump praised the US blockade of Iranian shipping, calling it 'the most successful' in history while labelling it a 'steel wall.' He claimed that the blockade had halted Iranian business and prevented it from paying military wages, while still allowing other countries to export 'lots of oil.' 'Praise be to Allah!' Trump wrote.
Late on Tuesday, US forces said they carried out strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of an American helicopter on Monday, with explosions reported by Iranian media along its southern coast. US Central Command later said that the US Air Force and Navy had command and control, defence and surveillance stations. Iran said it had attacked American bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday.
Trump accused Iran of taking too long to negotiate a peace deal and warned it would now 'have to pay the price', a day after suggesting an agreement was in the offing. The remarks came after Iran and the US once again traded fire following the downing of an American helicopter, further straining a ceasefire that took effect in April but has been marked by sporadic flare-ups of violence. The exchange drew international calls for restraint on the eve of the World Cup, which the US is co-hosting and Iran is participating in.
Trump said in a social media post that Iran had been 'completely defeated', just a day after saying talks to bring about a definitive end to the Middle East war were in the 'final throes'. 'Iran is all talk and no action,' he said on Wednesday. 'They've taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!'

The war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, threw the region into chaos and rattled global markets before the shaky truce began.
Iran said it attacked American bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday after the US carried out strikes on the Islamic republic in retaliation for the downing of a helicopter. The Apache was the second crewed aircraft that Washington confirmed was shot down by Iran during the war. Its two crew members were rescued, the US military said.
Bahrain said it intercepted and destroyed 'a number of Iranian aerial attacks', and a correspondent in the capital Manama heard several loud explosions. Jordan's military, meanwhile, said it shot down five missiles, with no casualties or material damage. Elsewhere, the Kuwaiti military said its air defences were engaging 'hostile aerial targets'. Iran has recently carried out deadly attacks there too.
Tehran's foreign ministry 'reiterated the legal and moral responsibility' of its neighbours 'to prevent the US military and Israel from using their territory or facilities to plan, organise, execute, or support hostile actions against Iran'. US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American forces in the Middle East, said on X that it had earlier 'struck Iranian air defence, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz'.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday of the risk of a return to 'full war' in the Middle East after Iran and the United States traded strikes. 'We should not minimise the risks of a lesser fire becoming full fire, or in another word — full war,' Secretary-General Guterres said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the tinderbox region. — AFP