Donald Trump has declared the Iran peace deal is off after they took ‘too long’ and warned they will ‘pay the price’ as they US launched strikes on 20 targets overnight.

‘Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, 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!!!’

‘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 wrote on Truth Social.

Trump’s declaration comes hours after he launched strikes against Iran in retaliation for the shooting down of an Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. 

Both pilots were rescued, but Trump called it a ‘miracle’ given that an Iranian drone got ‘lodged between the two pilots’ but did not explode.

A senior US official told Fox News that 20 targets inside Iran were hit Tuesday night. 

Trump said he was considering having the US military strike Iranian infrastructure, specifically bridges and power plants.

Speaking in an interview with Fox, Trump explained that the potential escalation comes because Iran’s leadership has delayed progress on peace negotiations.

‘I may keep going,’ Trump stated. ‘They had a chance to sign a deal and survive.’

He further noted that Tehran has merely been ‘tapping the US along’ in discussions that have ultimately yielded few results.

In a separate post today, Trump slammed the ‘fake news’ media, claiming it ‘refuses to report how effective the US Naval blockade is.’

He continued: ‘Nothing gets through unless we want it to. It is a steel wall! 

Trump proceeded to call Iran a ‘failed nation,’ claiming Tehran ‘is doing zero business, not paying their military, or any of their bills,’ finishing the post with a ‘Praise be to Allah!’ 

Despite Trump’s threats to escalate attacks on Tehran, a senior White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that US peace talks with Iran are ongoing this Wednesday.

‘The talks still continue,’ the official said.

This escalation in US tone comes after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps promised a ‘decisive response to the US aggression’, according to the Tasnim news agency.

The US and Iran have been locked in a stalemate for weeks, with Trump insisting that a peace deal is close, only for it to fall apart.

Trump remains adamant that Iran must give up its nuclear ambitions, while Tehran has demanded that any deal must include a truce in Lebanon.

US Central Command said Tuesday that it launched ‘self-defense strikes against Iran’ at Trump’s direction in response to the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter with two pilots – both unharmed. The Apache is the second crewed aircraft shot down by Iran during the war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter jet in April.

Iranian forces ‘will leave no attack or threat unanswered,’ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. ‘Leave our region if you want to be safe.’

The US airstrikes prompted a fresh wave of attacks from Tehran, with strikes targeting sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response.

Jordan also reported shooting down five missiles that Iran shot at an air base hosting US forces.

Over the weekend, Iran launched missiles at Israel after it attacked Tehran’s proxy terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel retaliated, but the two sides agreed to halt attacks on Monday after Trump’s demand for the strikes to stop.

Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that three people including two members of the Army Air Defense Force were killed in the Israeli strikes. 

No deaths were reported in Israel following the exchange.

They also reported early Tuesday that Tehran’s international airport, closed during the missile exchanges, had reopened, allowing flights carrying hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to land.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.