The United States is attacking Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump spoke of “large and powerful” strikes which he said were “in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait (of Hormuz).”
He reiterated his earlier claim that there are currently no sea mines in the strait, which is vital to the global oil trade.
Trump also presented the new US attacks as a response to the recent Iranian missile strikes on US military bases in Jordan, which he said had been successfully repelled.
The US president spoke of a “very justified” US attack.
Trump also warned Iran against further attacks on the United States. “If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level,” he asserted.
But, he added that such a US response “will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!”
Tehran also issues threats
Iran for its part threatened retaliatory strikes of its own following renewed US attacks on its territory.
The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and the Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters stated in a declaration carried by state media that the enemy would be dealt devastating blows; the more chaos the US caused in the region, the heavier the losses it would suffer.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also threatened the US with severe punishment.
FILE PHOTO – US Marine Corps Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter jets fly over Roosevelt Roads Naval Station. (is associated with: «Trump hails ‘large and powerful’ US attacks on Iran») Kendall Torres Cortés/dpa