Trump warns Iran will pay a price for ongoing conflict

President Donald Trump said that Iran will pay the price for taking too long to negotiate a deal. Iran’s military was a mess, and its navy and air forces had been defeated, Trump said in a social media post Wednesday morning. The president also told Fox News he may order more strikes on Iran after the two countries exchanged fire Tuesday and Wednesday.

Why did the United States and Iran conduct strikes? U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran Tuesday evening after Trump ordered the attacks. He said Iranians shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter Monday night. U.S. Central Command at around 9 p.m. Tuesday announced the end of the strikes, which it characterized as self-defense. The attacks targeted Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. military.

Iran responded early Wednesday by launching new attacks against U.S. military operations across the Persian Gulf. Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan each reported that they intercepted weapons from Iran.

Dig deeper: Read Travis K. Kircher’s report on the U.S. military’s retaliatory strikes on Tuesday.