Editor’s note: This is a developing story.

The U.S. launched strikes against Iran on Wednesday for the second consecutive evening. Axios and open-source intelligence confirmed the strikes around 5:30 PM U.S. Eastern Time.

Iranian state media said that the Strait of Hormuz had been declared closed following the strikes and any vessel attempting to transit would be targeted.

President Donald Trump had signaled earlier in the day that the strikes were coming. “We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them again hard today, in case you don’t turn on your television set,” Trump said in the Oval Office. Trump added that the U.S. and Iran had been close to striking a deal but “they keep tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers.”

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After the strikes began, a U.S. official told Barak Ravid of Axios that the targets include air defense systems, radars, and drone units, and that all are located in southern Iran. But the Trump administration has suggested it might strike civilian infrastructure. Earlier Wednesday, Trump told Fox News he was getting closer to striking Iran’s power plants and bridges, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters that the Iranians might see "bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the United States of America.”

Al Jazeera claimed, citing "Israeli media," that Israel had also launched strikes. However, Kan 11, an Israeli public television channel, reported that security sources denied Israel had joined the strikes.

On Tuesday evening, the U.S. had launched what Central Command called "self-defense strikes" in response to the downing on Monday of an Army Apache helicopter.