AGENCIES and TOI STAFF
US President Donald Trump said Saturday that the Islamic Republic of Iran will “no longer exist” if the United States is “forced” to resume the war, as he accused Tehran of violating a ceasefire by striking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The threat came after US forces said they struck “multiple” Iranian targets Saturday in another tit-for-tat response to attacks on shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz.
“United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump wrote.
US Central Command said the strikes were in response to an Iranian drone attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker Kiku, which was carrying some two million barrels of crude.
The US military said the latest response targeted “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.”
In total, it said it hit 10 Iranian military targets “at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iranian media reported several explosions in the Sirik and Qeshm areas of southern Iran.
In the wake of the strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also accused the US of violating the terms of the ceasefire, announcing that its navy and aerospace forces had launched joint missile and drone attacks targeting US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation.
“Violating the ceasefire is contrary to Clause 1 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and will result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iran’s Press TV.
In a statement, Kuwait’s military said that its air defenses were “engaging hostile missile and drone attacks.”
In Bahrain, which hosts a major US naval base, the interior ministry said air raid sirens had been activated and urged residents to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.”
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters that there were no reported US casualties or major impacts or damage to US facilities in the Middle East in the immediate aftermath of the Iranian attacks.
The IRGC warned that any further US action would be met with a “crushing response.”
In a statement, the IRGC said it “destroyed eight important US military facilities at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman in Bahrain.
“Any enemy aggression, whatever the pretext, even against insignificant targets… will have a crushing response,” the IRGC added.
The clashes brought new tension to the negotiating process meant to end a war launched by the United States and Israel at the end of February.
Traffic through the Strait has increased since the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this month, but is still well below prewar levels.
Iran has warned vessels not to enter or leave the Gulf through the Strait without permission, but ships have continued to move, some using a route not authorized by Tehran.
The US and Iran are still debating the terms of the interim peace deal, including issues such as getting ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
