On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that American military forces have initiated a second straight day of airstrikes targeting multiple sites within Iran, framing the operation as a direct response to what it calls “Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”
In a public statement posted to the social platform X, CENTCOM outlined that at the direction of the U.S. Commander in Chief, its forces commenced the new round of self-defense strikes at 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time.
The announcement followed earlier comments from President Donald Trump made in the Oval Office earlier that same day, where he signaled that additional military action would be imminent after talks to reach a negotiated agreement with Iran failed to produce a breakthrough. “We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump stated. “We hit them hard yesterday. We’re going to hit them again hard today, in case you miss it, in case you don’t turn on your television set, and we’ll see what happens with the deal.”
The first wave of U.S. strikes on Tuesday came in retaliation for an incident in which an Iranian drone collided with a U.S. military helicopter operating over international waters off the coast of Oman. The damage from the collision forced the two crew members on board to make an emergency water landing, CENTCOM confirmed. Roughly two hours after the crash, an unmanned U.S. surface vessel successfully recovered both crew members unharmed, per the command’s initial reporting.