US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States would strike Iran again if no peace deal is secured, threatening further escalation following one of the most significant exchanges of hostilities in two months, Reuters reported.
"We're going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard," Trump told reporters at the White House, saying the strikes would come later on Wednesday.
The United States and Iran have traded fire several times since a tentative ceasefire took hold in early April, even as negotiators have sought an end to the three-month-old war. Trump has repeatedly said a deal is close, though there has been no sign of a breakthrough.
In the latest such incident, the U.S. military targeted air defenses and radar sites around the Strait of Hormuz after a U.S. attack helicopter was downed near the strategic waterway. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. A U.S. official said there was no significant damage.
Iran said the U.S. had violated international law by striking reservoirs that supplied drinking water to 10 villages. "This is not collateral damage -- it is a calculated war crime and a flagrant violation of human rights," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghei said.
Trump, who has threatened before to destroy Iran's civilian infrastructure, did not say whether the coming strikes would target power plants and bridges.
The head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, Ebrahim Azizi, warned in response that the "war won't be limited to the region."
Despite the belligerent language from both sides, there were signs of continuing diplomatic efforts.
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