US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Iran had taken too long to negotiate a deal and would now "have to pay the price", while Tehran said it would reassess diplomatic engagement with Washington after overnight tit-for-tat strikes.
The exchange of fire, which came after Trump said Iran had downed a US Apache helicopter near the strait, marks one of the most significant escalations since Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in April.
"Iran is all talk and no action," Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday morning. "They've taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!"
The US military said it had targeted Iranian air defenses, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites in what it described as a "proportional response" to the downing of the helicopter, whose two crew members were rescued by a drone boat.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tehran would reassess diplomatic engagement with Washington after what it called repeated ceasefire violations. "Any diplomatic process requires a minimum stable environment," Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Fox News, citing a phone interview, reported that Trump said he may order new strikes on Iran's power plants and bridges because Tehran was taking too long to make a deal.
Still, there were signs diplomatic efforts were continuing. A delegation from Qatar, which has been mediating between the United States and Iran, landed in Tehran on Wednesday to hold talks about the latest developments related to diplomatic efforts to end the war, Iranian state media reported.
