Trump Vows To Hit Iran Hard After Strikes On US Bases

US President Donald Trump has vowed a forceful response after Iran launched retaliatory missile attacks against American military positions in Jordan, hours after the United States struck Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz.

“We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst in a phone call on Monday.

Trump’s warning followed an Iranian missile attack on US forces in Jordan, which Tehran described as retaliation for an American strike on Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps launchers on Larak Island.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired ballistic missiles at two bases housing US forces in Jordan. Jordanian authorities said its air defences intercepted the missiles, while Trump said nearly all of the projectiles had been intercepted.

The Iranian retaliation followed a US military operation on Sunday in which American forces struck Iranian rocket launchers positioned on Larak Island, an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Central Command said the operation was a limited and precise strike against Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces preparing to deploy rockets capable of laying sea mines in the strategic waterway.

Washington said the action was intended to protect commercial shipping and prevent an imminent threat to vessels using the Strait of Hormuz.

The renewed exchange of attacks marks a sharp escalation after a period of relative calm between the two countries.

Trump also intensified his rhetoric against Tehran in a post on Truth Social, declaring Iran a “Failed Nation” and saying “IT IS DEAD.”

He accused the Iranian government of economic and political collapse, claiming that the country had no functioning navy or air force, was failing to pay its soldiers and police and was experiencing 300 per cent inflation.

Trump also alleged that Iranian authorities had killed more than 100,000 protesters and said the country’s leaders should face trial for what he described as “war crimes against humanity.” The figures and allegations were presented by Trump without supporting evidence in the post.

The US president’s remarks came as Washington considers its next military response to the Iranian attacks.

Trump also said Iran wanted negotiations with the United States but questioned whether Tehran could be trusted to honour any agreement.

“They want to meet so badly,” Trump said, while adding that he was uncertain whether a deal with Iran could be trusted.

Iran has meanwhile continued to signal that it is prepared to respond to further US military action.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Tehran still wanted a negotiated solution to the conflict with Washington, despite the latest military escalation. He said continued war was not in the interest of Iran, the region or the wider international community.

The conflicting messages from the two governments have raised the prospect of further escalation while leaving open the possibility of renewed diplomacy.

The latest confrontation has also increased concerns over the security of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy-shipping routes.

The waterway has become a major flashpoint in the conflict, with Washington accusing Iran of threatening commercial shipping through its military activity around the strait.

Iran also claimed to have targeted a US base in the United Arab Emirates with drones, although UAE authorities said the attack was intercepted and denied that the Al Minhad Air Base had been hit.

The renewed hostilities have pushed oil prices higher as markets assess the risk of a wider conflict and disruption to energy supplies.

Trump’s threat of a further military response now leaves the region facing the possibility of another round of US-Iran strikes, even as Tehran continues to publicly express interest in a negotiated settlement.