<p>President Donald Trump on Tuesday encouraged Iranians to "rise up and fight" while dismissing the idea that U.S. strikes on Iran are aimed at bringing Tehran to the negotiating table.</p>
<p>The president's comments followed an announcement from U.S. Central Command regarding the completion of another round of strikes on Iran in response to Tehran's targeting of U.S. forces in Jordan and commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.</p>
<p>"I'm not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported. I couldn't care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement," Trump stated in a post on Truth Social, although it was unclear which ABC News report he was referencing.</p>
<p>"I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing. They are just playing out the inevitable," he continued. "When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?"</p>
<p>Trump did not clarify what he meant by "the inevitable" but earlier warned that any Iranian retaliation to U.S. strikes would be met with significant military action, stating the country would "be no longer." </p>
<p>Previously, Trump had claimed that Iranian officials were "begging" for a deal to end the ongoing conflict, but he has recently escalated threats of severe strikes in relation to peace talks.</p>
<p>His remarks came shortly after Iranian state media reported that a U.S. airstrike had hit a wedding in Kuhestak, a coastal city near the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in the deaths of at least five people, including a child, and wounding at least 68 others.</p>
<p>CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins stated to the Washington Examiner that the command is aware of the reports from Iranian state media and emphasized that the U.S. military does not target civilians.</p>
<p>The U.S. strikes on Tuesday were the second wave since Sunday night, marking the first campaign after a month-long pause in airstrikes between the two nations.</p>