DUBAI/WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Iran had taken too long to negotiate a deal and would now “have to pay the price,” while Tehran said it would reassess diplomatic engagement with Washington after tit-for-tat strikes overnight.
“Iran is all talk and no action,” Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday. “They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”
Trump latest comments come amidst Tehran’s criticisms that diplomatic efforts with the United States cannot advance under repeated ceasefire violations, following overnight clashes in the Gulf between Tehran and Washington.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused Washington of undermining diplomacy through contradictory messages, shifting positions and repeated ceasefire violations, and said Israel was also damaging the process through repeated ceasefire breaches in Lebanon.
“Following overnight events, we need to re-assess (the diplomatic path with Washington) ... any diplomatic process requires a minimum stable environment,” he said.
The United States launched airstrikes early Wednesday against Iran after blaming Tehran for the crash of an American attack helicopter, prompting new attacks from Iran and further widening the retaliatory strikes that threaten to derail talks to end to the war.
Iran launched attacks on sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response. Jordan also reported shooting down five missiles that Iran shot at an air base hosting US forces.
Iran’s foreign ministry warned that its neighbors in the Gulf had a “legal and moral responsibility” to prevent American and Israeli strikes.
Iran’s Mehr news agency late Wednesday reported explosion was heard near Qeshm Island, but did not mention the immediate cause.
Since the US and Israel started the war with attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.
Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.
The downing of the Apache attack helicopter and the strikes by the US military further strained the ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.
A US Apache helicopter during a joint military exercise with Indonesia in Baturaja, South Sumatra on Aug.12, 2022. (AFP/File)
Strikes by US and Iran shake the Middle East
Fighter jets from the US Air Force and Navy conducted the strikes in Iran, the US military’s Central Command said, targeting “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites.” Iran acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on the damage.
“The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” Central Command said.
Iran’s top diplomat said foreign military forces near its territory “are at constant risk” and later vowed that there would be a response to the new US strikes.
Iranian forces “will leave no attack or threat unanswered,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. “Leave our region if you want to be safe.”
Iran targeted sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, where authorities report intercepting missiles aimed at a base hosting US forces.
Jordan said Wednesday it shot down five incoming missiles launched by Iran, which Iran said targeted the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. That air 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.
In a statement, Iran’s foreign ministry “reiterated the legal and moral responsibility of all countries in the region (especially those located along the southern shores of the Arabian Gulf) to prevent the US military and Israel from using their territory or facilities to plan, organize, execute, or support hostile actions against Iran.”
US helicopter collided with Iranian drone, official says
A US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional, and official statements only said the crash is under investigation. CNN, CBS News and other outlets earlier reported the collision.
In the first known operation of its kind by the American military, a drone boat rescued both of the helicopter’s aviators at 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, about two hours after their aircraft went down during a patrol off the coast of Oman, US Central Command said.
Trump said both crew were “safe and uninjured.”
The US service members were spotted and picked up by a drone boat that took them to another location on the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command.
AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.
Trump has insisted an Iran deal is coming
Before he accused Iran of downing the US helicopter, Trump expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran, but didn’t say why there was reason for optimism.
Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the US have taken hard-line positions.
The US wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to have been buried by American airstrikes during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.
The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is still a top Iranian priority. Lebanon’s army chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been a key figure in the Iran-US talks.
Haykal’s visit comes as Lebanon’s government takes an increasingly hard line on Hezbollah but remains unable to disarm the powerful militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel “in defense of our Lebanese people,” suggesting that Lebanon’s government should take this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.
