Iran War Live Updates: Trump Says U.S. Will Strike Again After Saying a Peace Deal Was Imminent

Since a cease-fire was declared two months ago, fire has slowed but not ceased. U.S. and Iranian forces have traded occasional attacks and issued almost daily contradictory claims about blame, the fighting and peace talks.

Mr. Trump had made things no clearer, often contradicting himself about whether a peace deal is at hand, whether large-scale fighting will resume, whether the Iranians are eager to settle, and whether the Strait of Hormuz has been reopened, among other things.

The claimed cease-fire “is more like a lesser-fire, as we have seen with the escalating attacks and rhetoric over the last 48 hours,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said on Wednesday.

The U.S. military said on Tuesday that its jets had hit Iranian targets in response to the downing of an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Iran has not admitted or denied downing the helicopter, but its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said the American strikes had been conducted “under false premises.”

IRIB, the Iranian state broadcaster, reported that the U.S. attacks hit drinking water facilities in the Bamani district of Sirik County, in the southern Hormozgan Province, cutting off water for thousands of people. Video footage of the damage, published by IRIB, was verified by The New York Times, though The Times could not verify that it was a water system that was struck. U.S. Central Command did not respond to a request for comment on the report.

In retaliation, Iran said it had launched attack drones against U.S. naval targets in Bahrain and fired missiles at American military facilities in Jordan. It was not immediately clear what damage the missiles did. Officials in the countries said that the strikes had been intercepted.

The resumption of bombardments came hours after Mr. Trump said that a deal to end the war with Iran could be signed within days. The president has made such claims repeatedly, though there has been no clear sign of progress in negotiations.

A delegation of Qatari officials arrived in Iran on Wednesday to discuss efforts to negotiate a deal, according to a regional official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Qatar, alongside Pakistan, has served as a key mediator between Iran and the United States in diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• Persian Gulf: The Jordanian military said it had intercepted five missiles launched from Iran toward a region that includes the Muwaffaq Salti base, which has been used for U.S. air operations. Bahrain’s military said it had taken out several Iranian drones and missiles. And the Kuwait Army said its air defenses had intercepted hostile targets. The Revolutionary Guards claimed to have caused damage at U.S. bases, but that claim could not immediately be verified.

• Lebanon: Israel deepened its assault across southern Lebanon on Tuesday in attacks it said were aimed at Iran-backed Hezbollah militants after an exchange of strikes between Iran and Israel ended the previous day. In the southern city of Tyre, at least eight people were reported to have been killed after the Israeli attacks.

• Economic impact: U.S. consumer prices rose 4.2 percent in May compared to a year earlier, the highest pace of inflation since April 2023, amid the stalemate over Iran. Oil prices also jumped on Wednesday. Read more ›

• Nuclear talks: The Trump administration’s negotiations with Tehran have focused on four major elements of a nuclear agreement that U.S. officials say would grind Iran’s program to a halt for about 15 years. Read more ›