President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US would strike Iran ​again if no peace deal is secured, threatening further escalation following one of the most significant exchanges of hostilities in two ‌months, reported Reuters.

"We're going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard," Trump told reporters at the White House, saying the strikes would come later on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X following Trump's briefing that Iran "will stand firm against any pressure or threat".

The US launched strikes on Iran on Tuesday after Trump said Iran had shot down a US Army helicopter.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it responded with strikes on US bases in the region, reported BBC.

Earlier on Wednesday Trump wrote on his social media account: "They've taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!"

He said Iran had been "completely defeated" militarily.

The United States and Iran have traded fire several times since a tentative ceasefire took hold in early April, even as negotiators have sought an end to the three-month-old war. 

Trump ​has repeatedly said a deal is close, though there has been no sign of a breakthrough.