Trump says Iran must “pay the price” as war appears to reignite

Israeli airstrikes hit the center of the city of Sidon in Lebanon on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, as Israel persisted with its attacks across the country’s south.

An AFP correspondent reported hearing an explosion in the area before seeing a car burning as rescuers and firefighters headed to the scene.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported “an enemy strike on a car” in the city.

Sidon, the largest city in southern Lebanon, had largely been spared from the Israeli strikes that have pummelled much of the country’s south and east. A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon was agreed last week, but the Iran-backed Hezbollah group quickly rejected it, and the two sides have continued exchanging fire for weeks.

President Trump told Fox News the U.S. Apache helicopter crash near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday was caused by an Iranian drone that became lodged in between the Army aircraft’s two crew members.

The Apache was flying low when the drone got lodged in the gunship without exploding, according to Fox News, quoting Mr. Trump in a phone call with reporter Trey Yingst on Wednesday. The pilots then brought the helicopter down, and the drone along with it, according to the account.

After the Monday evening incident, U.S. Central Command said it had launched “self-defense strikes” on Iranian targets. Those strikes triggered retaliatory fire by Iran targeting U.S. military installations across the Persian Gulf.

President Trump said Wednesday that he’s close to ordering more strikes on Iran after the country’s attacks targeting American bases in Persian Gulf nations, according to Fox News’ Trey Yingst.

Mr. Trump said he “may keep going” with strikes, which he said would target power plants and bridges, because Iranian negotiators are “tapping the United States along,” according to Yingst 

Hostilities between Iran and the U.S. reignited after Iranian forces brought down an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening with an attack drone, according to U.S. officials.

President Trump ordered retaliatory strikes on Tuesday, and Iran responded early Wednesday by firing missiles at U.S. military installations across the Gulf, though there were no reports of any weapons impacting the sites. 

Qatari negotiators arrived in Tehran Wednesday for bilateral talks in an effort to finalize an agreement between the U.S. and Iran, the Reuters news agency and Iranian state media said, just as President Trump indicated that he was done waiting for a deal to take shape.

The Iranian and Omani officials were expected to discuss the latest developments, according to an Iranian news agency, but the state of the diplomatic efforts was unclear amid a renewed exchange of fire between the U.S. and Iran. 

President Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday morning that Iran had “taken too long” to negotiate a deal, and would “have to pay the price.”

President Trump again insisted Wednesday that the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports and associated vessels was serving its intended purpose – putting huge pressure on the Iranian regime – despite it failing to halt Iran’s attacks across the region or cajole the regime into accepting a peace deal.

“The Fake News Media refuses to report how EFFECTIVE the U.S. Naval BLOCKADE is, the most successful Blockade in the history of Naval Warfare. NOTHING GETS THROUGH unless we want it to,” declared Mr. Trump in a Truth Social post. “Iran is doing ZERO business, not paying their military, or any of their bills, and quickly becoming a FAILED NATION! Lots of oil is getting out. Praise be to Allah!”

While the blockade has undoubtedly curbed most of Iran’s energy exports, a Tehran business owner told CBS News on Tuesday that his shops were still thriving. 

CBS News producer Seyed Bathaei said most businesses in the Iranian capital remain busy, though regular Iranians are suffering due to astronomical inflation that’s been a problem for decades due to international sanctions, and exacerbated by the war.  

A tanker off the coast of Oman, near the eastern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, issued a distress call Wednesday saying it had been struck by a missile, causing a fire in its engine room, British maritime security company Vanguard Tech said.

The U.K. Navy’s Maritime Trade Operations agency also reported an incident off Oman’s coast with a fire in a tanker’s engine room, but it did not identify the vessel. Two people were reported missing and there was one casualty with unspecified injuries, according to UKMTO.

“Local authorities have reported a tanker has experienced a fire in their engine room and are on the scene assisting with the evacuation of the crew,” UKMTO said, adding that there had been no known environmental impact.

Iran has taken “too long” to negotiate a deal with the U.S. and will now have to “pay the price,” President Trump said in a social media post Wednesday morning.

Mr. Trump’s statement came after the fragile U..S. ceasefire with Iran was ruptured by an exchange of fire on Tuesday following the downing of an U.S. Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening. 

After retaliatory U.S. strikes for the attack on the U.S. helicopter, President Trump told News: “I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful.”

“Iran is all talk and no action. 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!!!” the president said in his Truth Social post on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry accused the United States on Wednesday of violating the ceasefire agreement and sending contradictory messages after an exchange of fire overnight.

Esmail Baqaei, spokesman for the ministry and Iran’s negotiating team, was quoted by the IRNA state news agency as saying Iranian officials would be reviewing their position in the negotiations in light of the latest strikes, which President Trump said he was ordering in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

Baqaei called the U.S. actions “damaging this diplomatic process.”

Jordan said Wednesday it shot down five incoming missiles launched by Iran, which Iran said had targeted the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. That base has hosted American F-35 fighter jets and other aircraft.

Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency carried the statement from its military, which added that there were no injuries in the attack and that explosives experts had examined the debris from the interceptions.

Iran also launched drone attacks early Wednesday local time on U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response.

The U.S. military hit nearly 20 targets in its strikes on Iran, a U.S. official told CBS News, a retaliatory operation following the downing of an American helicopter.

The targets included Iranian air defenses, radar sites and ground control stations, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Iran launched drone attacks targeting U.S. military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain early Wednesday morning local time, Iranian state media said.

This comes hours after the U.S. conducted retaliatory strikes on Iran in response to the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter on Monday.

Iran’s state-controlled IRIB television network said in a social media post that the country’s naval forces had launched drone strikes targeting the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.

Kuwait’s army later said on X that its “air defense systems” were “currently intercepting hostile aerial targets.”

There was no word on whether any of the drone strikes had reached their targets.