The U.S. military said it struck Iranian sites at the direction of President Donald Trump after two helicopter crew members were rescued by a Navy sea drone — a first for the U.S. military, officials said.

WASHINGTON − The U.S. military launched strikes against Iran on June 9, hours after President Donald Trump vowed retaliation over the Islamic Republic's downing of an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

The US carries out strikes on military targets in southern Iran. Tehran responds by targeting US military assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

The U.S. military launched an additional round of strikes on targets within Iran early Thursday morning local time, U.S. Central Command said, hours after President Trump vowed to hit Iran "hard" in a bid to force the country to agree to a deal on the administration's terms.

President Trump said Iran has "taken too long" to negotiate a peace deal with the US, adding that "now they will have to pay the price."

U.S. ⁠President ⁠Donald Trump said on Wednesday ⁠that the United States will attack Iran if no peace deal is ​secured and that the U.S. military secretly escorted ships carrying more than 100 million barrels of oil out ‌of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump shared a clip from an episode in which the fictional president, played by actor Martin Sheen, dismisses the idea of a “proportional response” following the downing of a U.S. aircraft.

Iran retaliated against U.S. air and cruise missile strikes as hostilities escalated Thursday with attacks against Kuwait and Bahrain in renewed fighting after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations.