Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, that the United States military would launch new strikes against Iran, escalating the conflict that began in late February. Hegseth stated, 'Central Command will be busy tonight,' and promised that the U.S.
would 'hit Iran hard' as part of what Central Command described as 'self-defense strikes.' The announcement came hours after President Donald Trump warned of renewed military action, expressing frustration over stalled peace negotiations. Hegseth indicated that the bombing campaign was necessary 'to get the kind of deal Trump expects,' adding, 'If we need to negotiate with bombs, we'll negotiate with bombs, and we're very good at it.'
The escalation follows a series of events that began on Tuesday, June 9, when the U.S. military launched strikes in retaliation for Iran shooting down an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.
The two pilots were unharmed. Trump took to Truth Social on June 10, writing, 'They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!' This marked a shift in his rhetoric, as he had previously downplayed the slow pace of talks.
In the Oval Office, Trump told reporters, 'We hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit them again hard today.'
Iran responded to the U.S. strikes with counterattacks targeting American positions in Bahrain and Jordan.
Hegseth claimed that most Iranian missiles 'missed and were shot down by us,' and that there was 'no significant damage' to the Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Iranian state media reported strikes on several sites near the Strait of Hormuz, including Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Qeshm Island.
Central Command described the U.S. operations as 'a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S.
forces and international commercial ships.'
In a related development, Hegseth addressed the so-called 'Project Freedom,' revealing that President Trump’s effort to ferry commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz had continued in secret. Hegseth said, 'The idea of running ships through the Strait of Hormuz never stopped, it just went underground.' Trump later announced that the secret mission had successfully moved 100 million barrels of oil through the strait, helping to prevent oil prices from soaring further.
However, Reuters reported that shipping traffic remains limited and well below pre-war levels.
Trump also made controversial remarks about inflation, which hit a three-year high of 4.2% in May, largely due to the war. When asked if he was worried about the Consumer Price Index, Trump said, 'No, I love it.
The numbers were great. You know what I really love?
I love the inflation.' He claimed that inflation would 'come down like a rock' once the war ends. The conflict and rising gas prices are expected to become a focal point in the 2026 midterm elections, with Republicans facing an uphill fight to retain their slim House majority and Democrats seeing a path to take control of the Senate.
Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command reported that American forces disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday night after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions.
The tanker was accused of violating the U.S. blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran.
This was the eighth such incident since the blockade began in April, with more than 130 ships turned around. Trump has previously expressed hesitance about bombing, saying, 'If you do the bombing, a lot of people are going to be killed.
Who wants to do that?' but he now appears committed to military action to force a deal.