The United States ramped up pressure on Iran on Wednesday by carrying out more strikes and the Treasury Department slapping fresh sanctions on entities that it says “have supported weapons procurement” on behalf of Tehran, including some in mainland China and Hong Kong.“We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House.“We’ll see what happens with the deal. We’re really close to a deal but they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers.”Trump’s warning came as the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it launched strikes at 5.15pm Eastern Time against “multiple targets” in Iran. Earlier in the day, its forces fired at an oil tanker attempting to transport oil from Iran that violated its blockade on Iranian ports.“The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression,” CENTCOM said on X.In response, Iran’s military command declared it will target any maritime traffic attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian forces struck two merchant vessels attempting to pass through the strategic chokepoint.