Trump pledges more Iran attacks, saying U.S. will be 'attacking them very hard'

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. would hit Iran "very hard" again, escalating his public threats as he pressed Tehran to sign a deal.

"We hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit them hard again today," Trump said in televised remarks. "We're going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard."

Trump said Iran "should sign the deal" and said the U.S. wants an agreement "that's meaningful and works."

"We'll see what happens with the deal," Trump said.

The comments come after Trump warned on Truth Social that Iran had taken too long to negotiate and would "pay the price" amid escalating military tensions between Washington and Tehran.

"Iran's Military is a complete and total mess," Trump wrote Wednesday morning. "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."

Oil prices rose and U.S. stock futures fell after Trump's comments, with U.S. crude climbing nearly 2% to $89.72 per barrel and Brent rising 1.3% to $92.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped more than 600 points since the remarks.

Tensions in the Middle East escalated Tuesday after U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran, which the U.S. Central Command said were "in response to yesterday's downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter."

Iran has not directly claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that no offensive military operations had been carried out in the strait in the previous 24 hours.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.