The US has launched new strikes against targets in Iran for the second consecutive day, following through on Donald Trump’s promise to “hit them hard again” as a two-month-old ceasefire appears close to collapse.
US Central Command announced in a statement that forces began “launching additional self-defence strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET [10.15pm UK time on Wednesday] against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction”.
The two days of strikes followed the downing of a US Apache helicopter over the strait of Hormuz, which the US president has blamed on Iran.
The threats came hours after the two sides had traded fire, drawing neighbouring Gulf states back into an on-and-off war that has consumed the region since late February.
“We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them hard again today,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump, seemingly frustrated by the lack of progress in talks to turn a temporary ceasefire into a permanent truce, added: “We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers.”
US strikes Iran for second day, as ceasefire appears close to collapse
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth warned US Central Command will “be busy tonight” in order to “advance our military interests and enhance our diplomatic position”.
Hegseth said US bombs would be “dropping on key facilities in Iran”, adding: “That’s not because we want to restart anything we don’t have to restart. That’s because the war department is prepared to set the terms to ensure that we get the kind of terms that President Trump expects.”
Trump says ‘I love the inflation’ as rate rises to 4.2%
Donald Trump said “I love the inflation” after new data showed that inflation jumped to an annual rate of 4.2% in May, the third consecutive monthly increase since the start of the Iran war and a three-year high.
Speaking from the White House on Wednesday, the US president said that he was not concerned about inflation because of recent developments in the conflict.
Trump presses on with plan to install Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief
Donald Trump is pushing ahead with his controversial plan to install political loyalist Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, a move that has sparked bipartisan congressional backlash and imperiled the reauthorization of a powerful surveillance law set to expire at the end of this week.
Democrats rally round Platner in Maine as Trump reaffirms grip on GOP after primaries
Progressives rallied round the controversial Graham Platner after his primary victory in Maine on Tuesday, while Donald Trump again exerted his grip on the Republican party, helping to defeat a politician who had pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Only one in 10 Europeans now see US as an ally, survey suggests
European confidence in an American “security guarantee” has hit a historic low, a survey suggests, with only one in 10 people across 15 countries seeing the US as an ally and majorities in all doubting it would come to their aid if they were attacked.
UFC champion says he has been banned from White House fight for criticizing Trump
The only current US men’s UFC champion says he has been barred from Sunday’s fight card on the south lawn of the White House because he dared to criticize Donald Trump, Israel and Jeffrey Epstein.
On Tuesday night, middleweight champion Sean Strickland wrote on Twitter/X that he had been informed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that he had not been cleared to attend the event by the White House.
Trump signs $70bn immigration act ensuring ICE funding through 2029
Donald Trump signed a nearly $70bn immigration enforcement package into law on Wednesday after the House narrowly passed the legislation, ensuring funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol activities through the rest of Trump’s presidency.
House panel to seek testimony from Alan Dershowitz about Jeffrey Epstein
Representative James Comer, the Republican who chairs the House committee on oversight and government reform, announced that he would be asking Alan Dershowitz, Jeffrey Epstein’s former attorney, to appear before the panel as part of its investigation into the late sex offender.
What else happened today:
-
The US has recorded more than 2,000 confirmed measles cases so far this year – near the total of 2,228 recorded in all of 2025, and on track to become the worst year for measles in decades as states struggle with the loss of federal funding for public health.
-
Northern California’s Shasta county, best known for its radical conservative politics and thriving election-skeptic movement, appears on track for another clash with the state over a newly approved ballot measure that would transform local elections.
-
Environmental groups on Wednesday sued in an attempt to stop the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres (280 hectares) of wildlife refuge in Texas, claiming it would worsen ecological risks to a Gulf coast region already transformed by billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket operations.
-
New York City Democrat Brad Lander, the former city comptroller, is scheduled to stand trial Wednesday in a New York City federal court stemming from his arrest during an attempt to inspect rooms holding detained immigrants.
-
Bill Gates testified in front of the House committee on oversight and reform on Wednesday, and told lawmakers in his opening remarks that he “never witnessed nor had any indication” that Jeffrey Epstein was “engaged in ongoing criminal conduct”.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Tuesday 9 June.
