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

Ahead of the latest round of U.S. strikes, President Donald Trump huddled with key members of his national security team to discuss the scope of the attacks as well as the anticipated impact on negotiations, according to two U.S. officials.

One official said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top administration officials have been in contact with their counterparts in the Gulf states as they brace for what is widely expected to be a larger retaliatory response from Iran than what occurred Tuesday.

Another official said the Qatari delegation that traveled to Iran earlier (and has since left) did so as part of a last-ditch effort to preserve what remained of the ceasefire, but that they were unable to demonstrate enough meaningful progress to make a case for more time.

The Qatari mediators are expected to keep the lines of communication open as the administration ratchets up kinetic pressure on Iran to come to the table.

-ABC News' Shannon Kingston

For a second night in a row, the U.S. military is striking "multiple targets" in Iran on President Donald Trump's orders, according to a post by U.S. Central Command.

"U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief's direction," CENTCOM said in a post. "The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression."

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.