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U.S. President Donald Trump announced in a post on the social media platform Truth Social that the U.S. will launch a heavy attack on Iran this evening.
"The United States will strike Iran very hard tonight (whose navy, air force, radar, air defense, and all other forms of defense, along with most of their offensive capabilities, have been eliminated)," the U.S. president wrote. Donald Trump also announced that the U.S. will seize the Kharg Islands and other oil infrastructure sites and take control of the Iranian oil and gas markets, “just as we did with Venezuela, which is working out great for both Venezuela and the United States of America.”
Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated sharply once again following a new series of mutual attacks. President Trump continues to apply military pressure to force Tehran to agree to halt its nuclear program and end the conflict.
The U.S. carried out airstrikes on multiple targets in Iran and also struck an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman to disrupt Iranian oil exports. Three Indian crew members were killed in the attack. Iran stated that these attacks have rendered the earlier April ceasefire meaningless.
Iran responded with missile strikes on U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, among other locations, where air defenses were activated and airspace was temporarily closed. In addition, Iran claimed to have closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for global oil trade, although the U.S. military denies this.
According to the U.S., the attacks are intended to pressure Iran into negotiations, not as direct retaliation. “If we have to negotiate with bombs, then we’ll negotiate with bombs,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated. The situation is once again bringing both countries close to a full-scale war, with no clear signs that the escalation will end anytime soon.
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