Trump says he can “go ahead” with strikes on Iran as war appears to be looming

President Trump told Fox News that the US Apache helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday was caused by an Iranian jet that came between two Air Force One crew members.

The Apache was flying down when the drone came under fire without exploding, according to Fox News, citing Mr. Trump on the phone with reporter Trey Yingst on Wednesday. The pilots then brought the helicopter down, along with the drone, according to the account.

After Monday evening’s incident, the US Central Command said it had launched “defensive strikes” against Iranian targets. Those strikes sparked Iranian retaliation targeting US military deployments across the Persian Gulf.

President Trump said Wednesday he is close to launching additional strikes on Iran after the country’s attacks on U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf, according to Fox News’ Trey Yingst.

Mr. Trump said he “might continue” the strikes, which he said would focus on power plants and bridges, because the Iranian negotiations “affect the United States,” according to Yingst.

Tensions between Iran and the US escalated after Iran’s military shot down an Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening in a strike, according to US officials.

President Trump ordered retaliatory strikes on Tuesday, and Iran responded early Wednesday by firing missiles at US military installations across the Gulf, although there were no reports of any missiles hitting the sites.

Qatari negotiators arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for bilateral talks in an effort to finalize a deal between the US and Iran, Reuters and Iranian state media said, as President Trump indicated he was done waiting for a deal.

Iranian and Omani officials were expected to discuss the latest developments, according to Iran’s state news agency, but the status of the talks was unclear amid renewed exchange of fire between the US and Iran.

President Trump said on social media Wednesday morning that Iran “took too long” to negotiate the deal, and “they must pay the price.”

President Trump reiterated on Wednesday that the blockade of US warships in Iranian ports and related vessels is serving its purpose – putting more pressure on the Iranian government – despite the fact that it has failed to stop Iran’s attacks across the region or force the regime to accept a peace deal.

“The Fake News Media refuses to report how EFFECTIVE the US Naval BLOCKADE is, the most successful Blockade in the history of Naval Warfare. NOTHING IS EFFECTIVE unless we want it to be,” said Mr. Trump on Truth Social post. “Iran does ZERO business, doesn’t pay its military, or any of its debts, and is quickly becoming an INVINCIBLE NATION! More oil is flowing out. Praise be to Allah!”

While the embargo has undoubtedly curbed energy exports to Iran, a A Tehran business owner told CBS News on Tuesday that his stores were still developing.

CBS news producer Seyed Bathaei said many businesses in Iran’s capital remain busy, even as ordinary Iranians suffer from the astronomical inflation that has been a problem for decades due to international sanctions, fueled by war.

A tanker off the coast of Oman, near the eastern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, called on Wednesday to say it had been hit by a missile, causing an engine fire, British security firm Vanguard Tech said.

The UK Navy’s Maritime Trade Operations agency also reported an incident off the coast of Oman where a fire broke out in the engine room of a tanker, but did not identify the vessel. Two people were reported missing and one injured with unspecified injuries, according to UKMTO.

“Local authorities have reported that a tanker has caught fire in their cabin and are on the scene helping to evacuate crews,” UKMTO said, adding that there was no known environmental impact.

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

Mr Trump’s statement came after the U..S. The ceasefire with Iran ended in a firefight on Tuesday following the downing of a US military Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening.

After the U.S. retaliated by attacking a U.S. helicopter, President Trump told ABC News: “I believe the response should be very, very strong.”

“Iran is all talk and no action. The Middle East bully is DEAD!!! They took too long to negotiate a deal that would have been good for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” said the president in his book Truth Social on Wednesday.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman accused the United States on Wednesday of violating the ceasefire and sending conflicting messages after the overnight firefight.

Esmail Baqaei, spokesman for the ministry and Iran’s negotiating team, was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying that Iranian officials will review their position in the talks because of the recent strikes, which President Trump said were in retaliation for the downing of a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

Baqaei called the actions of the US “damaging this diplomatic system.”

Jordan said on Wednesday it had shot down the next five missiles launched by Iran, which Iran said were targeting the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. That base hosts American F-35 fighter jets and other aircraft.

Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency carried a statement from the military, which added that no one was injured in the attack and that explosives experts had examined the debris at the blockade.

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

The US military has hit nearly 20 targets in its strikes in Iran, a US official told CBS News, in retaliation for the downing of a US helicopter.

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

Iran launched drone strikes against US military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain on Wednesday morning local time, Iranian state media said.

This comes hours after the US carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran in response to the hijacking of an Apache helicopter belonging to the US military on Monday.

The state-controlled television network IRIB wrote on social media that the country’s military began attacking the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.

The Kuwaiti military later told X that its “air defense systems” are “currently intercepting hostile air targets.”

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