President Trump told reporters that the U.S. would hit Iran "hard" again on Wednesday, after conducting strikes on Tuesday evening.
The big picture: Trump said Iran had been "playing us for suckers" during negotiations, and the U.S. would be "attacking them very hard."
- "We're going to hit them again hard today, in case you miss it, because you don't turn on your television set, and we'll see what happens with the deal," Trump said.
Driving the news: The strikes on Tuesday came in response to a U.S. helicopter being shot down near the Strait of Hormuz.
- The U.S. targeted Iranian radar and air defense systems but calibrated the attack so as not to cause any casualties, two U.S. officials told Axios.
- Trump said the helicopter incident gave the U.S. "the right" to hit back, but also said Iran had been "tapping us along" in talks.
- "It was just tap, tap, tap. I don't know what they're doing. Then they shot at our helicopter, very expensive helicopter, by the way," Trump said, noting that the two crew members survived.
What to watch: Trump did not rule out a deal, and Qatari mediators are in Tehran to try to get talks back on track.
- But the president has grown increasingly frustrated over nearly two weeks of waiting for a response to the latest U.S. offer, a U.S. official said.
- "We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along; they keep playing us for suckers," Trump said.
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