DUBAI/ASHEVILLE: US President Donald Trump threatened further strikes against Iran on Monday after the first exchange of direct attacks in a month, raising tensions in a conflict that had recently shifted into an economic standoff. Iran launched missiles overnight at two US air bases in Jordan in response to a US attack on Iran's Larak Island, where Washington said it had struck Iranian launchers firing mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
The exchange highlighted how quickly a conflict that has increasingly been fought through sanctions, blockades and economic pressure can still spill back into military action. While neither side appeared to be seeking a return to full-scale war, both signalled they were prepared to respond to further attacks. "We're going to hit them hard," a Fox News reporter quoted Trump as later telling the channel. "There will be a response."
Separately, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the renewed strikes did not signal a return to full-scale war, describing Iran as a "failed nation" whose economy and military had been severely degraded. "That doesn't mean we won't smack them. We'll see what happens." Asked whether he had ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran, Trump said there was "no reason" to do so because Iran was already "totally defeated militarily."
US air defences had downed all Iranian missiles that could have caused any damage and that new US economic sanctions on Iran were having a big impact, Fox News reported. Earlier, Trump had posted to social media two videos depicting explosions engulfing Iran's main oil export terminal, with the message "Kharg island being blown to smithereens!!!" But the videos were generated by AI, and no such attack took place. Iran called Trump's post "laughable". Vice President JD Vance told reporters Trump "likes to switch it up on social media a little bit" and was "sending a message".