U.S. Launches Fresh Airstrikes in Iran After 5-Day Pause
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- U.S. military began conducting airstrikes in Iran on Wednesday, the first strikes since Trump paused the bombing campaign last Friday to give negotiations another chance.
- The strikes came in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack targeting a U.S. base in Jordan a day earlier; the U.S. military said all of the missiles were intercepted.
- Trump told reporters the U.S. would hit Iran "very hard" later in the day, declaring "It's our turn."
- Trump claimed Iran had acknowledged the missile launch was a mistake and asked the U.S. not to retaliate.
- The pause had followed 13 consecutive nights of attacks on Iranian military targets, opening a brief window for diplomacy that Iran's missile attack shattered five days later.
Why it matters: A five-day diplomacy window collapsed after Iran fired missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan (all intercepted), prompting Trump to resume strikes after only 13 days of bombing had already elapsed. Trump's own claim that Iran apologized and asked for no retaliation did not stop the resumption, suggesting the pause was tactical, not genuine de-escalation.
