US strikes aimed to restore leverage in Iran talks - Axios

The Trump administration issued a fresh round of Iran-related sanctions targeting six individuals and four entities, including some tied to China, according to a notice posted on the US Treasury Department’s website.

“Through Economic Fury, the Treasury Department is disrupting the foreign procurement networks that support the Iranian military’s efforts to acquire weapons,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“Treasury has frozen the Iranian regime’s assets, severely disrupted its economy, and dismantled the Iranian war machine. Treasury will not tolerate any support of the Iranian military,” Bessent added.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would stand firm against any pressure or threat after President Donald Trump threatened to target the country’s infrastructure.

“Critical infrastructure is the lifeblood of people’s lives. Threatening to target it, from transportation networks to the electricity and water industries, is not a show of strength but a sign of desperation in the face of a nation’s will,” Pezeshkian wrote on X.

“Iran, relying on the knowledge and capabilities of its specialists, national unity and solidarity, will stand firm against any pressure and threat,” he added.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Iran would be “unwise” to challenge the United States further after Washington carried out overnight strikes in retaliation for the downing of a US Apache helicopter.

“Right now, they’re defensive strikes to ensure we protect our people. Again, Iran would be unwise to challenge us further,” Hegseth said during a visit to the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“President Trump is seeking a deal. But not just a deal, a great deal on behalf of the American people so that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,” he added.

US Central Command said American forces disabled a Palau-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday after it violated the US blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran.

"At 11:14 p.m. on June 9, U.S. forces disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman for the second consecutive day after another vessel violated the ongoing blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran," CENTCOM said in a statement.

"A U.S. aircraft fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces," CENTCOM added.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would hit Iran "hard" again.

“We hit them hard yesterday. We’re going to hit them again hard today, and we’ll see what happens with the deal,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office.

“If they had a nuclear weapon, there’d be no Israel, there’d be no Middle East, and they would have absolutely shot at us,” he added.

"We'll see what happens with a deal (with Iran). We were — we were really close to a deal but they keep tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers because you know what, they dealt with some very stupid presidents. I have to say that, I'm embarrassed to say that, some very stupid people were sitting here," he said.

Trump said that Iran has already agreed to not obtaining a nuclear weapon, but the agreement still needs to be signed.

He also said that the United States had taken out “millions of barrels of oil” and 22 ships without Iran’s knowledge, adding that this was why oil was trading at $85 a barrel.