Donald Trump holds emergency talks ahead of imminent Iran strike

Donald Trump held an emergency meeting with top national security advisers in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday as the administration prepared fresh military action against Iran.

The US President had earlier vowed to "hit them again hard today" following a series of American strikes launched in response to the shooting down of an Apache helicopter.

According to Axios, those present included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the CIA director and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The President was weighing a brief but intensive operation targeting Iranian assets, aimed at compelling Tehran to resume diplomatic discussions.

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Iran announced on Wednesday that it was abandoning peace negotiations, citing repeated American violations of the April ceasefire agreement.

Trump declared that Iran would "have to pay the price" for stalling negotiations and attacking American assets, hinting at potential strikes on infrastructure, including power stations and bridges.

The Iranian military had launched missile and drone assaults against US installations in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain on Tuesday evening, responding to earlier American attacks on Iranian positions near the Strait of Hormuz.

The regional conflict widened further on Wednesday as Israeli forces resumed intensive bombardment of Lebanon, with a strike on the city of Tyre claiming at least 12 lives.

The escalation follows the downing of an American Apache helicopter, which triggered the initial wave of US retaliatory action against the Iranian regime and set off the current cycle of attacks.

Vice President Vance acknowledged in a CBS interview on Wednesday that the conflict with Iran had strained relations between Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

When asked whether Mr Netanyahu had made errors during the crisis, Mr Vance responded: "He's certainly gotten some things wrong."

The Vice President characterised the Israeli leader as someone who "aggressively asserts the interests of his country", noting that American and Israeli priorities are "sometimes perfectly aligned and sometimes misaligned".

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Mr Vance refused to specify which decisions he considered mistaken, stating that such discussions "are better left in private".

Reports emerged last month that Mr Trump had become furious with Israeli forces for continuing to strike Lebanon while he attempted to broker a peace agreement with Tehran.

The UN's nuclear watchdog passed a resolution on Wednesday demanding that Iran disclose its remaining enriched uranium stockpiles and permit inspectors to verify them.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member Board of Governors approved the measure by 21 votes to three, with 10 nations abstaining.

Russia, China and Niger voted against the resolution, which was jointly submitted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

Iran's permanent mission in Vienna dismissed the decision as "flawed, politically motivated" and "devoid of professionalism," accusing Western powers of undermining diplomacy whilst simultaneously attacking Iranian civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump claimed on Truth Social that a "secret mission" had enabled over 200 commercial vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz safely, asserting that America, not Iran, controls the strategic waterway.

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