By Bo Erickson and Enas Alashray
WASHINGTON/DUBAI, June 10 (Reuters) - The United States began a fresh round of strikes against multiple targets overnight in Iran, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump vowed new attacks if no peace deal is secured.
"The strikes are in response to Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression," the military's Central Command said in a post on X, adding the strikes began after midnight in Tehran.
Iran's top joint military command responded to the U.S. strikes, warning that it would fire on any vessel attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed for months. Iranian media reported that two ships were fired upon.
The U.S. attacks are the latest development in an escalating exchange of strikes that threaten to reignite a full-scale war, which was paused in early April when the two sides agreed to a fragile ceasefire.
Iranian news agencies reported explosions in several cities in southern Iran, including Sirik, Kangan, Bandar Abbas and Minab.
Trump told reporters earlier on Wednesday at the White House, "We're going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard."
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presented the move as an effort to force Iran into a deal to end the conflict, telling reporters during a visit to Central Command in Florida that the strikes would "advance our military interests and also enhance our diplomatic position."
"We will strike them hard tonight, and hopefully Iran makes a good decision," he said. "If we need to negotiate with bombs, we'll negotiate with bombs."
The United States and Iran have traded fire several times since the tentative ceasefire took hold, even as negotiators have unsuccessfully sought an end to the three-month-old war. Trump has repeatedly said a deal is close, though there has been no sign of a breakthrough, while also threatening to resume bombing.
The U.S. military targeted air defenses and radar sites around the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday after a U.S. attack helicopter was downed near the strategic waterway on Monday. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. A U.S. official said there was no significant damage.
Iran accused the U.S. of striking reservoirs that supplied drinking water to 10 villages and violating international law.
"This is not collateral damage -- it is a calculated war crime and a flagrant violation of human rights," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghei said.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump, who has threatened before to destroy Iran's civilian infrastructure, did not say whether the coming strikes would target power plants and bridges.
The head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, Ebrahim Azizi, warned in response that the "war won't be limited to the region."
Despite the belligerent language from both sides, there were signs of continuing diplomatic efforts.
A delegation from Qatar, which has been mediating between the United States and Iran, landed in Tehran on Wednesday to hold talks on the latest developments, Iranian media reported.
TRUMP CLAIMS A SECRET MISSION
The war has killed thousands and disrupted roughly one-fifth of the world's supply of oil and natural gas, sending prices sharply higher. Iran has blocked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. has maintained its own blockade on Iranian ports.
The conflict has become a political headache for the White House, with public polls showing Trump's approval ratings sinking amid voter anger over high gasoline prices. Some Republicans have openly worried the war's unpopularity could cost them control of Congress in November's midterm elections.
Oil prices rose nearly $3 following Trump's threat of escalation, to $94 per barrel.
Trump said vessels carrying 100 million barrels of oil have defied Iran to travel through the strait as part of a secret military mission. He said oil prices would be much higher without the effort.
Hegseth said ships have been transiting the strait "in the middle of the night, protected by the United States in a way that Iran can't stop, they can't see it."
Separately, the U.S. military said it disabled an oil tanker transporting Iranian crude in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday for a second consecutive day.
FIGHTING IN LEBANON CONTINUES
Fighting in a parallel war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has continued. Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 13 people on Wednesday, Lebanese security sources said, while Hezbollah claimed fresh attacks against Israeli forces.
Tehran's demands include an end to Israel's attacks in Lebanon, the lifting of sanctions on Iran, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets, and recognition of its control of the strait.
Trump says Iran must end its restrictions on shipping through Hormuz. He also says any peace deal must ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies any such ambition.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a U.S.-backed resolution on Wednesday telling Iran to declare its remaining enriched uranium stocks and let inspectors verify them. Iran branded the resolution as "political".
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Andy Sullivan, Ros Russell and Gareth Jones; Editing by Peter Graff, Aidan Lewis and Deepa Babington)
