BREAKING: US strikes Iran for second consecutive night

The United States has launched fresh military strikes on targets in Iran for the second consecutive night following an order from President Donald Trump.

According to a statement posted U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the latest operation targeted several locations in Iran as tensions between both countries continue to escalate.

“U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” CENTCOM said in a post.

“The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”

While speaking earlier after a visit to the U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated that further military action was expected during the night.

“Central Command will be busy tonight because President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard, and we will be. Because Iran has a chance to make a good deal, a great deal to codify what they said they’ve been willing to do, and they haven’t been willing to do it,” Hegseth told reporters.

“As President Trump said, they’ve been tap, tap, tapping. You can see when someone’s trying to tap, tap, tap on a deal. Instead, they’re going to have tap, tap, tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the United States of America,” Hegseth continued. “And that’s not because we want to restart anything we don’t have to restart. It’s because we are, the War Department is prepared to set the terms to ensure that we get the kind of deal President Trump expects.”

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The latest U.S. strikes came hours after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed that Iran would resist pressure from Washington and condemned threats against the country’s critical infrastructure.

“Threats to target them – from transportation networks to the electricity and water industries – are not a show of strength but a sign of desperation in the face of a nation’s will,” he said.

His remarks followed Trump’s warning that his administration would be “attacking [Iran] very hard.”

Iran “will stand firm against any pressure or threat,” Pezeshkian said.

(ABC News)