US armed forces launched a second night of air strikes on Iran late on June 10, just hours after President Donald Trump warned Tehran it would be hit "very hard" if a deal aimed at ending more than three months of war is not finalized.US Central Command said in a statement that its forces began launching additional "self-defense strikes against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction.""The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression," it added.Several Iranian news outlets, including state broadcaster IRIB, reported loud explosions in cities around the country.A day earlier, US air strikes rocked several sites in Iran in response its downing of a US Army Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then launched strikes at US bases in the region in a tit-for-tat attack. Trump told reporters during the day on June 10 that "we hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit them again hard today."
Before the renewed attacks, Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian said his country would stand firm against any pressure and said threats by Trump were a sign of Washington's desperation.Trump, speaking to reporters, also claimed that the United States has been taking oil out of Iran."I'm just announcing today for the first time, but we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil, millions of barrels every night," Trump said, adding that Iran "just figured it out."On the negotiations with Iran, Trump added: "We want a deal that is meaningful, we want a deal that works. We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers."
