US President Donald Trump warned Iran of a much stronger American response if Tehran retaliates after the US military launched strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz.In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the US was “as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz”, describing the strikes as “large and powerful”.Trump said the action was in retaliation for what he described as Iran’s “failed attempt” to add sea mines to the Strait of Hormuz and the launch of eight missiles at a US military base in Jordan, which he said were all intercepted.“The United States is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are large and powerful, and in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait, which currently has no mines (They have been completely removed or detonated!), and the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan. If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it 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.”The warning came after the US military said it had begun striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran at 1600 GMT on Tuesday.US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes followed “recent attempted attacks” by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American service members deployed in the region.The latest strikes follow a US attack on Monday against two rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM described the action as “limited, precise” and said the launchers were being prepared to “launch rockets and deploy sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz”.Iran’s IRGC said the attack killed two people and injured two others, and vowed “response and punishment”.Iran subsequently said it had targeted US military bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles. Jordan’s military said it intercepted eight missiles.Iranian state television also reported that Iranian forces targeted an air base in the UAE with drones. The UAE’s Ministry of Defence rejected the report as “unfounded”, while confirming that it had shot down a drone.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said: “We are not seeking war, but we will deliver a decisive response to the aggressors.”The escalation has centred on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route between Iran and Gulf countries. The waterway is about 33 km wide at its narrowest point and has emerged as a major flashpoint in the ongoing conflict.CENTCOM also rejected an earlier IRGC claim that a supertanker had struck sea mines and caught fire while attempting to cross the strait through a route not authorised by Iran.“This is yet another IRGC attempt to intimidate regional commercial shipping through disinformation,” CENTCOM said.Trump has separately claimed that mines placed by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz have been removed or detonated, warning that any vessel deploying new mines would be destroyed. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi dismissed the claim as a “propaganda” deception.The latest US action marks the first known American attack on Iran since Trump paused a renewed military campaign in late July, further escalating tensions around the strategically important waterway.
