US attacks Iran as Trump launches new 'self-defense strikes' in response to 'unwarranted and continued aggression'

The United States launched a new round of 'self-defense' strikes on Iran on Wednesday evening amid stalled negotiations with Tehran.

In a post on social media, US Central Command announced that starting at 5.15pm ET 'forces began launching additional self-defense strikes against multiple targets in Iran.'

It added that the strikes come at the 'Commander in Chief's direction' and were 'in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.'

The announcement comes just hours after Trump met with his advisors in the Situation Room to discuss options for a massive bombing raid.

The president has grown frustrated with the stalled efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Iran, and is reportedly hoping that the new bombing efforts will push the Iranians into making a deal.

He was considering an operation 'that is big in scale but short in duration,' sources told Axios. 

Following the meeting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters: 'CENTCOM will be busy tonight because we are going to hit Iran hard ... they are going to have tap, tap, tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the US. It is not to restart the war but to set the terms for a deal.'

Trump also warned: 'We hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit them hard again today.'

But Tehran has threatened to broaden the conflict to other countries if the US were to strike.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran's parliament, promised retaliation on X, writing: 'This time, the war won't be limited to the region.' 

Meanwhile, Qatari mediators were holding talks with Iranian officials in another effort to bring about a deal. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.