Donald Trump has warned that the United States will respond forcefully after fresh clashes erupted with Iran, marking the first direct fighting between Washington and Tehran in about a month.
The US launched missiles and a drone against Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday night. Iran retaliated by attacking American military facilities in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
US Central Command described the operation as a “limited, precise action” against minelaying units belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The strikes came after Trump had previously claimed that the US Navy had removed mines from the important shipping route.
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Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that at least three people were killed in the American attack. Two of those killed were reportedly members of the IRGC Navy.
Following the strikes, the IRGC claimed it had damaged what it described as “technical infrastructure, maintenance facilities and enemy fighter jet positions” at US military locations in Jordan and the UAE.
Trump later warned that Washington would respond to the Iranian attacks.
“We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response,” the US president told Fox News on Monday.
Trump also posted an AI-generated video depicting Iran’s major oil export centre on Kharg Island being destroyed.
Vice President JD Vance said Trump was using the post to send a message, explaining that the president “likes to switch it up on social media a little bit.”
Iranian officials dismissed the threat. Hamid Bovard, head of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company, described Trump’s social media posts as “laughable” and said conditions on Kharg Island remained calm.
The latest escalation came days after Washington expanded sanctions on Tehran.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Iran of responding to mounting economic pressure with military action.
“They’re in shock at the state of their economy,” Bessent told reporters during a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in North Carolina.
“I would think that they are lashing out kinetically because they are losing economically,” he added.
Trump later intensified his criticism of Iran through a series of posts on Truth Social, describing the country as a “Failed Nation.”
In one post, he claimed Iran had lost key military and economic capabilities and accused its government of being unable to properly run the country.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, said Tehran remained interested in finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
According to Tasnim, Pezeshkian said Iran believed that prolonging the war served no one’s interests, including those of Iran, the wider region or humanity.
An interim arrangement between the United States and Iran expired earlier this month, while formal negotiations have largely remained stalled. Pakistan has attempted to help restart discussions between the two sides.
Several major disagreements remain unresolved, particularly over Iran’s nuclear programme and the future operation of the Strait of Hormuz.
Oman has also been involved in efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran concerning the strategic waterway, although negotiations have yet to produce a final deal.
A senior Iranian source familiar with the country’s decision-making process warned that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz could deteriorate further for vessels that fail to comply with rules imposed by Tehran.
The latest confrontation follows US and Israeli strikes against Iran that began on February 28. What was initially expected to be a conflict lasting only a few weeks has now continued into its seventh month.
