Trump threatens Iran 'will no longer exist' for ceasefire violation
Donald Trump has issued another aggressive warning to Iran on social media after confirming the US military had struck Iran again, hours after a Panama-flagged tanker was hit by an Iranian drone.
Trump confirmed on Truth Social: “The US struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!”
He added: “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job,” and “if that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post that ten targets in Iran had been struck by the US at Donald Trump’s direction.
“US military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities,” it said, following the tanker attack.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its navy and air forces had launched joint missile and drone strikes on US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the latest US strikes.
About an hour after Trump’s post, Kuwait’s army reported its air defences were responding to “hostile” missile and drone attacks, while sirens sounded in Bahrain, according to the country’s interior ministry.
A US official confirmed the attacks on the facilities and said the situation was still unfolding, but there were no reported US casualties or major damage to US sites in the Middle East at this time.
An IRGC statement claimed the US strikes had violated the ceasefire and “will result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes”, according to state-run Press TV. American bases in the region “will experience hell in the coming days”, the statement said.
Earlier, CENTCOM posted on X: “Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to,” and its strikes were “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.”
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported explosions were heard in Sirik in southern Iran, without providing further details.
IRGC threatened: “America’s blind shots at Sirik will not resolve our dominance over the Strait of Hormuz. But our shots at violators will remind the rest of the vessels of the clear passage route.”
Saturday’s tanker attack in the Strait of Hormuz followed one on a cargo ship on Thursday that triggered the latest escalation.
Each side had accused the other of violating the agreement reached less than two weeks ago to end the four-month-old conflict.
The 14-point US-Iran interim agreement was meant to halt the fighting, which the US and Israel started on 28 February, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping while talks began on deeper issues, such as Iran’s nuclear programme.
Washington has been promoting a southern lane along the coast of Oman, while Tehran, which aims to charge fees for using the Strait of Hormuz, wants ships to use a northern route through its waters and under its control.