Iran live updates: US shoots down 2 Iranian drones attempting to strike ships in Strait of Hormuz

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military "will be busy tonight" in Iran during remarks after visiting the U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday.

"Central Command will be busy tonight because President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard, and we will be. Because Iran has a chance to make a good deal, a great deal to codify what they said they've been willing to do, and they haven't been willing to do it," Hegseth told reporters.

"As President Trump said, they've been tap, tap, tapping. You can see when someone's trying to tap, tap, tap on a deal. Instead, they're going to have tap, tap, tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the United States of America," Hegseth continued. "And that's not because we want to restart anything we don't have to restart. It's because we are, the War Department is prepared to set the terms to ensure that we get the kind of deal President Trump expects."

Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened force against Iran if it strikes Israel again, saying the war is "far from over."

"We must not think that the work is done, the campaign against Iran is far from over. If Iran attacks Israel, it will suffer a severe blow, as we did a few days ago. The IDF is prepared to attack Iran with great force," Katz said speaking in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

"We continue to attack Hezbollah terrorists everywhere for the sake of the security of the northern communities and the State of Israel, and we categorically reject Iran's threats and its attempt to link the arenas," he said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the country will "stand firm" amid threats from the U.S. of more attacks against the country, denouncing threats against Iranian infrastructure.

"Threats to target them – from transportation networks to the electricity and water industries – are not a show of strength but a sign of desperation in the face of a nation’s will,” he said.

Pezeshkian’s post comes after President Donald Trump said his administration would be “attacking [Iran] very hard."

Iran "will stand firm against any pressure or threat," Pezeshkian said.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. assisted vessels in traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, saying the effort resulted in over 100 million barrels of oil traveling through the passage and into the open market.

The U.S. worked to execute a "secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz" resulting in more than 200 ships "safely" traveling through the Strait, Trump said in a post on social media Wednesday.

"This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran. Their military is defeated, and their economy is lost. It’s over for Iran," Trump wrote.

Earlier, Trump alluded to apparent U.S. operations to stimulate shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with Trump claiming that the U.S. took 22 ships, amounting to millions of barrels of oil, through the strait the other day.

"Do you know we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn't know about it? Iran, until right now," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

Trump claimed the U.S. "blasted" Iran's radar, enabling the seizures.

"We took out the other night 22 ships late at night with no lights, because they don't have any radar," Trump said, claiming "that’s why oil’s $85 a barrel."

Earlier Wednesday, Trump said on social media that nothing is getting through the U.S. Naval blockade at the Strait of Hormuz "unless we want it to." He added, "Lots of oil is getting out."