Trump Threatens Iran With ‘Hard’ Response After US-Iran Exchange Of Fire

US President Donald Trump has threatened to retaliate against Iran after the two countries exchanged fire for the first time in weeks, raising fears of renewed hostilities in the Middle East.

“We’re going to hit them hard,” Trump said on Monday, according to a Fox News reporter who spoke briefly with him. “There will be a response.”

The warning came a day after the United States carried out strikes on Iran’s Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Tehran to launch missile and drone attacks against US military targets in the region.

Washington said its strikes targeted Iranian rocket launchers on the island to prevent Tehran from planting mines in the strategic shipping lane.

Iran retaliated by targeting US forces in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, while also claiming to have shot down an American drone over the Strait of Hormuz.

The exchange of attacks came after several weeks of relative calm between the two sides, which have remained locked in a wider confrontation for six months.

The conflict has left the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passed before the war, largely closed, disrupting global markets and pushing up energy prices.

Iranian state media reported that three people were killed and several others wounded in the US attack on Larak Island.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said its ballistic missile strikes on two US air bases in Jordan caused “heavy damage”.

Trump, however, claimed that all but one of the missiles fired at US forces had been intercepted, adding that the remaining missile was assessed as posing no threat.

Jordan’s military said it had intercepted eight missiles, although it did not specify their origin.

Iran also claimed to have targeted US personnel at an air base in the UAE. Abu Dhabi confirmed that a drone had been intercepted over its territorial waters but described reports that Al Minhad Air Base had been targeted as “baseless”.

The Revolutionary Guards later claimed to have shot down another US drone over the Strait of Hormuz and warned neighbouring countries against allowing the US to use their territory to launch attacks on Iran.

Meanwhile, a tanker travelling out of the strait was reportedly struck by three “unknown projectiles” off Oman’s northeastern coast, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. No casualties or environmental damage were reported.

The latest confrontation followed a shift by the Trump administration towards increased economic pressure on Tehran.

Trump earlier described Iran as a “Failed Nation”, claiming that its military had been weakened, its finances were collapsing and its leadership was in disarray.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would continue applying economic pressure on Iran.

“We are going to continue exerting pressure, and we’ve had very good discussions here already,” Bessent told reporters on Monday at a G20 meeting in North Carolina.

He said a significant turning point in the US pressure campaign could come “within weeks or months”.

Iran, meanwhile, has continued using the Strait of Hormuz as an economic pressure point, with the disruption to shipping contributing to higher global oil prices.

Trump has claimed that the US Navy has “total control” of the waterway, while Washington said last week that it had completed efforts to clear explosives from the route.

Iran has rejected the claim, insisting that it controls the strategic sea lane.

The Revolutionary Guards said a “rogue” oil tanker caught fire near the strait after striking two mines while attempting to use an “illegal route”.

The US military dismissed the claim as “disinformation”, saying no ships had struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Efforts by mediators to end the conflict have so far failed, with an earlier truce and memorandum of understanding collapsing.

Iran has continued to push for a return to the previous agreement, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying on Monday that the US must honour its commitments.

“The solution is completely clear and straightforward: the United States must return to its commitments,” Araghchi told Iranian state television.

“In that case, everything can be put back on the right track,” he added.

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