US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US blockade of Iran is 'the most successful in the history of naval warfare', as he declared 'Praise be to Allah!'

Taking to his Truth Social account, Trump said that Iran will 'have to pay the price' after 'taking too long to negotiate a deal', hitting out at Tehran for being 'all talk and no action'.

He added: ‘Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore – They have been completely defeated.’

‘Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!’

In a separate post, the US president slammed the 'fake news' media, claiming it 'refuses to report how effective the US Naval blockade is, the most successful Blockade in the history of Naval Warfare'.

He continued: 'Nothing gets through unless we want it to. It is a steel wall!'

Trump proceeded to call Iran a 'failed nation,' claiming Tehran 'is doing zero business, not paying their military, or any of their bills,' finishing the post with a 'Praise be to Allah!' 

The President's comments come as tensions flared in the Middle East last night after he launched strikes against Iran in retaliation for the shooting down of an Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command said in a statement that it 'began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5pm ET today (Tuesday) at the Commander in Chief's direction, in response to yesterday's downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.

'The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.'

Fighter jets from the US Air Force and Navy targeted 'air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites' in Iran, which acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on the damage.

The US airstrikes prompted a fresh wave of attacks from Tehran, with strikes targeting sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response.

It came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps promised a 'decisive response to the US aggression', according to the Tasnim news agency.

Iranian forces 'will leave no attack or threat unanswered,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. 'Leave our region if you want to be safe.'

Jordan also reported shooting down five missiles that Iran shot at an air base hosting US forces.

Trump's fresh strikes came just hours after he vowed revenge on Iran in a Truth Social post, warning: 'The United States must, of necessity, ⁠respond ​to this ​attack.'

US Central Command said two pilots were rescued from the Persian Sea after their aircraft crashed off the coast of Oman. 

The helicopter was brought down by an Iranian Shahed drone, with one US official telling CNN it remains unclear whether the aircraft was deliberately targeted.

It comes as the US and Iran have been locked in a stalemate for weeks, with Trump insisting that a peace deal is close, only for it to fall apart.

He remains adamant that Iran must give up its nuclear ambitions, while Tehran has demanded that any deal must include a truce in Lebanon.

Iran launched missiles at Israel over the weekend over its attacks on Tehran's proxy terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel retaliated but the two sides agreed to halt attacks on Monday after Trump's demand.

Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi earlier warned US forces to leave the Strait of Hormuz after Trump vowed retaliation for the Apache shoot-down.

'The Strait of Hormuz is NOT international waters but shared between Iran and Oman... Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire,' he said.

'To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave. We prefer language of diplomacy but speak other languages too,' he added.

The Apache is the second crewed aircraft that Washington has confirmed was shot down by Iran during the war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter jet in April.

The war has strangled the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil flows, while Washington has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.

Trump had earlier urged Israel and Iran to to stop 'shooting' and said that 'final negotiations' towards peace would proceed.

In the recent escalation of attacks, Iran fired nearly 30 missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli military, while Israel struck military sites in the Islamic republic.

Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that three people including two members of the Army Air Defense Force were killed in Israeli strikes a day earlier. No casualties were reported in Israel following the exchange.

Iranian media reported early Tuesday that Tehran's international airport, closed during the missile exchanges, had reopened, allowing flights carrying hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to land.