New Strikes Between U.S. and Iran

The United States and Iran exchanged a new round of strikes on Thursday, bringing the two sides closer to all-out war. President Donald Trump warned that American strikes would resume the following night if Tehran did not capitulate in negotiations to end the conflict that began with U. S.

and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. Iran responded with two waves of attacks on targets at U. S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, though there was no immediate confirmation. The latest exchange followed U. S.

strikes roughly 24 hours earlier, in which the U. S. military said its jets had hit multiple Iranian targets in response to the downing of an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

Trump claimed he had directly spoken with Iranian officials and was asked to stop the strikes. Iran said it would close the Strait of Hormuz in response to the strikes, but the U. S. rejected that claim.

On the diplomatic front, Trump asserted that Israel was not involved in the strikes, while Iranian President Pezeshkian warned that Iran would stand firm against any pressure or threat.