US launches new round of strikes against Iran

Washington, July 14

The United States launched another round of strikes against Iran on Monday (US time), the US Central Command said in a statement.

"At 4:45 p.m. ET today, US Central Command began launching the third consecutive night of strikes against Iran, at the Commander in Chief's direction," the command said.

The US was targeting Iranian military assets including coastal surveillance systems, drone and missile capabilities, CNN quoted a US official as saying.

"We're going to hit them very hard tonight, and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow," Trump said at the White House earlier on Monday.

Meanwhile, Trump on Monday said that the United States would take control of the Strait of Hormuz and could permanently oversee its security after accusing Iran of breaking a military agreement and continuing to send drones into the strategic waterway.

"We’re taking over the Strait. They have nothing. They’ve got nothing," Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

Trump said the US had struck Iranian military assets overnight and would continue to respond forcefully to any new drone activity.

"Most of their equipment is gone. Their anti-aircraft gun, we hit them very hard last night," Trump added.

The president said Washington and Tehran had reached what he described as a completed agreement before Iran sought changes after lengthy negotiations.

"But we had a deal. What nobody knows, we had a deal. It was a done deal. And then they broke it," Trump said.

He said Iranian negotiators had held an 11-hour meeting and initially agreed to everything under discussion. But they later called back seeking revisions.

"I said, changes? They got to make changes? We’re not going to make changes. Always changes," Trump said. "You know, they’re professional negotiators. That’s all they are. I don’t even call them good at it."