By Staff Reporter
US President Donald Trump has said the United States is carrying out strikes against Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, warning that Iran would face a more severe response if it retaliates.
Trump made the statement in a post on Monday, claiming that the US strikes were in response to what he described as Iran’s failed attempt to lay sea mines in the strategic waterway and a missile attack on a US military base in Jordan.
“The United States is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said.
According to the US president, the strikes were “large and powerful” and followed an alleged Iranian attempt to place sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also claimed that Iran had fired eight missiles at a US military base in Jordan, all of which he said were intercepted.
He warned that any further Iranian retaliation would trigger an even stronger US military response.
“If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level,” Trump said.
The president, however, suggested that an even larger military operation was being held in reserve, warning that it could have devastating consequences for Iran.
“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!” he said.
Trump’s statement comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy shipping route.
The claims regarding the strikes, the alleged mine-laying attempt and the missile attack were presented by Trump in his statement. Independent confirmation of all the details was not provided in the statement.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically important waterways, with any disruption to shipping through the passage potentially affecting global oil supplies and energy prices.
