Donald Trump issues chilling threat to 'defeated' Iran: 'Now they will pay the price!'

The exchange of fire, which came after The Potus claimed Iran had downed a US Apache helicopter near the strait, marks one of the most significant escalations since Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in April.

Officials in Iran said they would be reassessing diplomatic engagement with Washington after the tit-for-tat strikes overnight.

President Trump said on his Truth Social page: "Iran is all talk and no action. They've taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!"

He went on to claim: "Much of [Iran], like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore. They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD."

The Potus's comments come as one official told reporters that Qatari negotiators traveled to Tehran on Wednesday morning in an effort to finalise an agreement, after consultations with the United States.

However, Mr Trump told Fox News he may order new strikes on Iran's power plants and bridges because of apparent delays from Tehran to make a deal.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tehran would "reassess" its diplomatic engagement with Washington after what it called repeated ceasefire violations.

"Any diplomatic process requires a minimum stable environment," Esmaeil Baghaei said.

The US strikes lasted about four hours, with Central Command saying in the early hours of Wednesday morning that operations had ended, with officials claiming nearly 20 Iranian targets were hit.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Qeshm Island and the port of Sirik were attacked, while Iranian media also reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, another port city, and later near Jask at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Gulf neighbours and Jordan activated air defences to intercept incoming missiles and there were no immediate reports of damage to US bases.

The escalation, just days after Iran exchanged strikes with Israel for the first time since the ceasefire, cast fresh doubt on prospects for a deal to end the war, which began on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Meanwhile, the UN human rights office has confirmed it would deploy a team of investigators to Lebanon next week to assess potential violations of international law by all parties during the current war in the country.

Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East conflict on March 2 when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Iran, prompting a major Israeli air and ground ⁠campaign.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said: "It's the first time that we are sending this assessment mission, and the idea is indeed to look at violations by all parties, violations of international law, violations of international human rights law, and to document this, and eventually to report back to you on our findings."

More than 3,600 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon and more than one million Lebanese are displaced.

The US declared a ceasefire on ⁠April 16 but fighting has continued and Lebanon says Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 strikes since the truce was announced.

The crisis is rapidly eroding food security, with nearly one in four people in Lebanon, about 1.24 million people, expected to face crisis and emergency levels of ⁠food insecurity until August, according to the UN.

Elsewhere, crew members were missing after a fire started in the engine room of a tanker 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman's Sohar, The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said.

UKMTO reported one casualty, without giving further details, and did not report the cause of the fire.

British maritime security group Ambrey said.it was "Likely the result of US operations to blockade Iranian ports."

A second maritime security source also said the vessel was likely to have been hit by a US missile.