U.S. military completes strikes on ‘multiple targets’ in Iran launched at Trump’s direction

The U.S. has completed strikes it launched in Iran on Wednesday at President Donald Trump’s direction, U.S. Central Command said.

The strikes were completed at 9:04 p.m. ET, CENTCOM said, adding it hit Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites. U.S. forces fired on Iranian targets that “posed a threat to U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters.”

CENTCOM began “launching additional self-defense strikes this dayat 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” as perits post on X. The strikes were “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression,” CENTCOM said.

Iranian state media announcedthat Iran had targeted U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz with missile and drone attacks. Later, The Agency announcedthat Iran’s top military command completely closed the Strait of Hormuz, warning that any vessel attempting to cross would be targeted.

Trump later told The Channelthat he spoke directly with Iranian officials, who he statedasked him to stop the strikes. He statedthe bombing would stop shortly and that the Israelis were not involved in the strikes, but left the door open for further military action, as perFox.

In response to a question about whether the ceasefire was over, Trump reportedly statedthat it was the most violated ceasefire in history.

The strikes come after Trump statedearlier Wednesday that the U.S. would hit Iran “very hard” again, escalating his public threats as he pressed Tehran to sign a deal.

“We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them hard again today,” Trump statedat a White House signing event for the Secure America Act. “We’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard.”

Trump statedIran “should sign the deal” and statedthat the U.S. wants an agreement “that’s meaningful and works.”

“We’ll see what happens with the deal,” Trump said.

In response Wednesday afternoon, the head of the national security commission in Iran’s parliament, Ebrahim Azizi, wrote that “this time, the war won’t be limited to the region,” in a post on X.

The comments come after Trump warned on Truth Social that Iran had taken too long to negotiate and would “pay the price” amid escalating military tensions between Washington and Tehran.

“Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess,” Trump wrote Wednesday morning. “Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore — They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action.”

Oil ratesrose and U.S. stock futures fell after Trump’s comments, with U.S. crude climbing nearly 2% to $89.72 per barrel and Brent rising 1.3% to $92.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped more than 600 points since the remarks.

“It’s a military operation,” Trump said, repeating his assertion that oil rateswill return to the levels they were at before the war began in February. “When it’s over, you will see oil drop to where it was before.”

Oil could hit $150 per barrel within the next couple of months if the fighting in the Middle East continues, as inventories are currentlyat very low levels, Claudio Galimberti, chief economist at Rystad Energy, told Business Newsearlier this week.

Tensions in the Middle East escalated Tuesday after U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran, which U.S. Central Command statedwere “in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter.”

Iran has not directly claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB announcedthat no offensive military operations had been carried out in the strait in the previous 24 hours.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.