: Thursday, June 11, 2026 08:23 AM
Washington. The United States has once again started attacks on several Iranian targets. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned that military pressure on Tehran will be increased if it does not agree to a nuclear deal with Washington. US military action was initiated at 5:15 pm (Eastern Time) on Wednesday. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that on the instructions of President Trump, additional strikes were carried out in ‘self-defense’ on several targets in Iran. “Central Command is going to be very busy tonight because President Trump has said we will hit Iran hard, and we will,” Hegseth said, speaking to reporters after meeting with CENTCOM commanders at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. “Iran has a chance to make a good, in fact a very good deal, to formalize the things they’ve been talking about doing, but haven’t done.”
Trump said at the White House that despite several months of talks, Iran did not move forward with the talks.
“I’ve been working with Iran for many months and they should sign this deal. It’s a good deal. It doesn’t give them the right to have nuclear weapons. In fact, it completely prevents them from ever having nuclear weapons,” Trump said.
These new attacks came after Iran shot down a US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter near Oman on Monday. Trump said that the helicopter crew was rescued safely, but he talked about continuing military action.
He said, “We gave them a strong reply yesterday, and will give it again today. We will see what happens with the agreement. We came very close to the agreement, but they have been avoiding us continuously. They are trying to fool us.”
CENTCOM said the strikes were carried out in response to “Iran’s continued and unprovoked aggressive activities.” Earlier in the day, the command reported that US forces intercepted another oil tanker that was carrying Iranian oil in violation of the US-led blockade.
According to CENTCOM, US aircraft attacked the engine room of the Palau-flagged oil tanker M/T Settebello with precision munitions after its crew failed to follow repeated instructions.
Hegseth said that the ongoing military operations around the Strait of Hormuz are an important part of the American strategy. He claimed that under ‘Project Freedom’, so far more than 100 million barrels of oil have passed through this route safely under American security.
He said, “The United States controls the Strait of Hormuz. We are working with our partners to ensure the movement of oil and other goods, and this work has been going on continuously for several weeks, even if Iran does not want to admit it.”
The Pentagon chief said CENTCOM had significantly weakened Iran’s military capabilities and warned that further attacks were possible.
He said, “Iran has an opportunity to make a deal. President Trump is a conciliatory leader, and he is ready to make this deal. The wise thing for Iran is to accept it.”
Trump also reiterated the same thing and said that both military action and diplomacy go hand in hand.
He said, “The simple thing is, Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, and they won’t. All they have to do is sign a paper.”
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Web Title-US Launches Fresh Strikes on Iran; Trump Says Deal Was Close but Iran Kept Stalling
