The United States carried out new airstrikes against Iran, which US President Donald Trump described as a “response” to the previous day’s bombings of merchant ships, for which Washington blames Tehran.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had struck around 90 Iranian targets.

According to CENTCOM, the operation was aimed at further weakening Iran’s ability to attack merchant ships and civilian sailors in the Strait of Hormuz.

Hours after the strikes, Trump told reporters aboard the presidential aircraft Air Force One that Iranian officials had contacted Washington and that they “very much want to reach a deal.”

However, he added that he is not sure whether they are “worthy” of a deal.

Meanwhile, tensions have also spread to Gulf countries. Bahrain reported explosions in the capital Manama, Kuwait said it had intercepted missiles and drones, while Qatar issued a security alert over the situation in the region.

On the other hand, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and the country’s chief negotiator with the US, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, reacted on social media platform X, declaring that “America still has not understood that bullying and breaking promises no longer come without a cost.”

The latest strikes come after the US announced that on Tuesday it hit more than 80 targets in Iran in response to attacks on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

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