President Trump on Monday vowed that he will bomb Iran again after the IRGC responded to the first US strikes against Iranian territory in about a month by targeting US military facilities in Jordan.
The US strikes on Sunday night targeted Larak Island, where at least two people were killed, and several others were injured, according to local officials. The IRGC responded with missile strikes on Jordan and also claimed a drone attack on a US base in the UAE, which Abu Dhabi denied, though it did acknowledge intercepting an Iranian drone.
When asked if the US would respond to Iran’s retaliatory attacks, Trump told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, “We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response.”
The president also downplayed the Iranian attack, claiming that all but one missile was intercepted and that the one that wasn’t shot down was allowed to go through since it wasn’t expected to cause much damage. However, Jordanian sources speaking to ABC News said that “some” of the missiles were not successfully intercepted.
In another threat to Iran, Trump posted videos made by AI of US forces bombing Iran’s Kharg Island. “Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT,” he said in one of the posts on Truth Social on Sunday night.
The US launched the strikes on Sunday after Trump and his top officials signaled their plan was to focus on ramping up the economic sanctions on Iran and continuing the blockade rather than bombing the country, but now Trump appears to be reverting back to launching strikes and threatening escalation.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that last week, Trump reviewed a plan to launch a limited bombing campaign along the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from rebuilding military capabilities, an idea one US official called “mowing the lawn,” a term Israel used for its bombing campaigns in Gaza pre-October 7, 2023.
The US claimed that its strikes on Larak Island targeted two launchers that were preparing to fire rockets armed with mines into the strait, and the Channel 12 report said that the US attack and Iran’s retaliation make Trump more likely to approve the Hormuz bombing campaign, which has the backing of US War Secretary Pete Hegseth.
