US says it is preparing strikes on key facilities in Iran

The United States says it is preparing to launch strikes on what it described as key facilities in Iran, as military pressure on the country intensifies. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth made the remarks in Tampa, Florida, as he left the headquarters of US Central Command. He said the planned attacks would be strong and clear, and suggested they could continue into a second day.

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Hegseth said he had just reviewed the plans for Wednesday night's attack with Admiral Bradley Cooper, the CENTCOM commander. He linked the operation to ongoing negotiations for a permanent ceasefire and echoed President Donald Trump's warning that Iran would have to pay the price for taking too long. CENTCOM later announced additional self-defence strikes at 5:15pm US Eastern time, or 21:00 GMT, saying the action was in response to Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression.

The latest strikes would mark the second straight day of US attacks against Iran, according to the material provided. That would deepen a fragile truce said to have been struck on 8 April, and it comes amid a wider period of confrontation between the two countries. The row also says the US has been at war with Iran since 28 February, when the Trump administration joined Israel in an attack on the country.

The stated US and Israeli justification has been to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The developments matter because they point to a further escalation in a conflict that is already affecting military, diplomatic and regional security calculations. The reference to ceasefire negotiations suggests the strikes are being used alongside, rather than instead of, talks.

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That creates added pressure on the prospects for any durable settlement and raises the risk of further retaliation. The material also points to shifting and at times conflicting explanations from Washington about the campaign. It says Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously described the US action as pre-emptive, arguing that the administration knew an Israeli action was coming and wanted to head off retaliation.

Hegseth, by contrast, framed the latest strikes as a response to Iran's negotiating tactics and to what he called continued aggression. Those differing explanations underline the political sensitivity of the operation. What remains unclear is the scale of the planned strikes, which facilities are being targeted, and whether the operation will indeed continue into a second day.

It is also not clear how Iran will respond or whether the latest action will affect the ceasefire talks referenced by Hegseth. The next developments to watch are any further CENTCOM announcements, any Iranian response, and whether Washington gives a fuller account of the objectives of the campaign.

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