U.S. strikes – The U.S. carried out airstrikes in Iran again Wednesday after Iran-backed attacks in the region escalated, as President Donald Trump said more strikes are coming. At the same time, Trump signed a nearly $70 billion immigration enforcement bill and administrati
The day’s pressure came in layers: a new round of U.S. strikes over Iran, more warnings to Americans abroad, and President Donald Trump signing a nearly $70 billion immigration enforcement bill in Washington.
In Iran, the U.S. military said it was striking “multiple targets in Iran” in response to what U.S. Central Command described as Iran’s “unwarranted and continued aggression.” Trump, meanwhile, told reporters the U.S. would be hitting Iran again on Wednesday night and said the next moves would be “strong” and “clear. ” while declining to say whether he planned to follow through on earlier threats to attack bridges and utility plants.
The escalation came just a day after the U.S. hit Iran following the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that Trump blamed on Tehran. The administration’s warning tone was mirrored far beyond the Gulf: the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad advised U.S. citizens in Iraq to “maintain heightened readiness and stay alert to local news sources. ” adding that “travel disruptions and airspace closures could occur on short notice.” The statement also reiterated a prior warning for U.S. citizens not to travel to Iraq and advising those there to leave.
The wider conflict has also been marked by regular exchanges of strikes between the U.S. and Iran. After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28—sparking the war in the Middle East—Iran-backed Iraqi militias launched regular attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities in Iraq.
Even as the U.S. framed the strikes as retaliation, American officials described attempts to control escalation. At the United Nations, Iran’s UN envoy, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that “no sustainable deal can be reached through terrorists. intimidation. or the use of force.” He said Iran “has never negotiated under threats and pressure” and “will never submit to pressure or question.” He urged the United States to abandon “the language of terrorism” and engage on the basis of “mutual respect. sovereign equality. and full adherence to international law.”.
On the ground at sea, U.S. military action continued alongside air and missile threats. U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday that it disabled an eighth merchant vessel in the waters off Iran on Tuesday. The announcement said U.S. forces disabled Palau-flagged M/T Settebello after the crew failed to comply with directions, and that “a U.S. aircraft fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room.” The video shared with the announcement showed an impact near the back of the ship followed by a large explosion and later smoke as the vessel floated.
Trump also described military activity in the Strait of Hormuz in unusually blunt terms. seeming to suggest that the U.S. was helping move oil past Iranian forces. He said he ordered a “secret mission” last month to support “Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships” through the strait. claiming it helped get more than 100 million barrels of oil through the strait. though he said there was no immediate confirmation of that figure. When asked about the mission, Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said, “U.S. forces continue to communicate and coordinate with commercial vessels seeking to freely and safely transit. ” without offering details on the specific support.
The president also made remarks about moving “millions of barrels of oil” at night with ships he said had “no lights” and “no radar. ” adding that “Iran” did not know about it “until right now.” He claimed the U.S. “took out the other night, 22 ships late at night” and said he had “wanted to say it so badly.”.
As the U.S. pursued escalation at home and abroad. it also moved a major domestic policy item through a different kind of pressure point: immigration enforcement. Trump signed a $70 billion immigration enforcement bill in the Oval Office on Wednesday. funding his deportation agenda through the end of his term.
The bill provides $38 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $26 billion for the Border Patrol. with an additional $5 billion for unforeseen costs. according to the White House. Trump signed the measure a day after House Republicans pushed it through by a 214-212 vote over Democratic objections. His signature ended a nearly six-month fight over Department of Homeland Security funding that began with the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in January during federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
Even as Trump signed the bill, the administration’s attention to national security policy inside the U.S. was front and center as well. Trump asked Congress for a short-term extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. which expires this Friday if Congress fails to act. Democrats object to the plan because of Trump’s surprise appointment of Bill Pulte as his director of national intelligence. a pick that lawmakers say is unqualified.
Trump said a short-term extension would provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent head of the agency. and he wrote on social media that “FISA 702 is very important to our Military. and keeping the American People safe. ” adding that the extension would help during the “World Cup and America250 Celebrations.”.
Outside Washington, other governments also weighed in as the U.S. and Iran traded warnings. Secretary-General António Guterres told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that the Gulf ceasefire “is more like a lesser fire. ” citing the downing of a U.S. helicopter, U.S. retaliatory attacks on Iranian targets, and Iranians firing at U.S. bases and facilities in the Gulf. Guterres called for a complete ceasefire. navigational rights and freedoms restored. and “serious negotiations on the nuclear issues. ” insisting Iran’s nuclear program be “exclusively peaceful.”.
The Gulf Cooperation Council condemned Iranian air attacks on Bahrain. Kuwait and Jordan on Wednesday. saying the “new heinous Iranian aggression” doesn’t create stability or build relations. It said the acts undermine “the foundations of trust” and “close the doors of dialogue.” The ministerial council said GCC states remain committed to diplomacy and good-neighborly relations. but questioned how future ties could be built while attacks continue.
Israel’s warnings tracked the U.S. pace as well. Israeli defense minister Israel Katz, speaking at a ceremony in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, said the campaign against Iran was “far from over” and warned that if Iran attacks Israel again, “it will suffer a severe blow.”
Back in Iran, the conflict bled into civilian infrastructure claims. Iran said U.S. strikes bombed two water reservoirs in the city of Sirik. cutting water supply to thousands of residents on Wednesday. according to Hashem Amini. the head of the state-owned National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company. and the head of the local water company. Iranian state media published a video of a damaged water reservoir in southern Iran. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the footage or the claims. U.S. Central Command had no immediate comment. though it said earlier Wednesday it “struck Iranian air defense. ground control stations. and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.” Sirik is at the eastern end of the strait.
The same scramble to keep options open was visible elsewhere in Trump’s foreign posture. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued his tough talk against Cuba while visiting the U.S. base on the island. warning Cuba against buying weapons that could strike the Guantanamo Bay Navy base or the U.S. mainland 90 miles away. “They would be inviting the kind of confrontation,” Hegseth said, and added that the U.S. military “will give the commander in chief every single option he needs inside that contingency.” Hegseth also told American troops in Cuba. “We are taking back our hemisphere. ” invoking the Monroe Doctrine and referencing Trump’s focus on Latin America and drug cartels.
A consistent thread ran through Wednesday’s events: the administration acted as if each next step would follow immediately from the last. The U.S. military said it was striking in response to aggression; Trump said more strikes are coming; Iran’s envoy demanded the U.S. refrain from threats if it wants diplomacy; and the U.N. secretary-general warned the region’s ceasefire looks too weak to contain the momentum.
In the middle of all that. a domestic political win—Trump’s $70 billion immigration enforcement bill—added a separate kind of urgency: the White House is pushing its agenda forward even while the country’s attention is pulled toward the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. bases, and civilian infrastructure claims in the places where missiles and drones are now the daily language.
United States Iran airstrikes Donald Trump immigration enforcement bill FISA extension U.S. Central Command Strait of Hormuz Iraq travel advisory UN Security Council