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.
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.”
