Ammon News - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Iran had taken too long to negotiate a deal and would now "have to pay the price," while Tehran said it would reassess diplomatic engagement with ​Washington after tit-for-tat strikes overnight.

Iran launched missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait ​and Bahrain in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait ⁠of Hormuz.

The exchange of fire, which came after Trump said Iran had downed a U.S. ​Apache helicopter near the strait, marks one of the most significant escalations since Washington and Tehran agreed to ​a ceasefire in April.

"Iran is all talk and no action," Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday. "They've taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have ​to pay the price!!!"

The U.S. military said it had targeted Iranian air defences, ground control stations ​and surveillance radar sites in what it described as a "proportional response" to the downing of the helicopter, whose two ‌crew ⁠members were rescued.

Iran's Gulf neighbours and Jordan activated air defences to intercept incoming missiles and there were no immediate reports of damage to U.S. bases.

The escalation - just days after Iran exchanged strikes with Israel for the first time since the ceasefire - cast fresh doubt on prospects for a deal ​to end the war, which ​began on February ⁠28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tehran would "reassess" its diplomatic engagement with Washington after what it called repeated ceasefire violations.

"Any ​diplomatic process requires a minimum stable environment," Esmaeil Baghaei said.

The U.S. strikes ​lasted about ⁠four hours, with Central Command saying shortly before 9 p.m. ET (0100 GMT Wednesday) that operations had ended. A U.S. official said nearly 20 Iranian targets were hit.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Qeshm Island ⁠and the ​port of Sirik were attacked. Iranian media also reported explosions ​in Bandar Abbas, another port city, and later near Jask at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

Reuters