President Trump ordered another round of airstrikes against Iran on Wednesday, a day after more than 80 targets were hit by US forces in response to the regime’s attacks on cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” US Central Command said in a statement.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” CENTCOM added.
Trump said the strikes were “in retribution” to Iran’s latest attacks, warning the Islamic republic to end the hostilities or else.
“If it happens again, it will get much worse,” he wrote on Truth Social.
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A US official described the assault as “wider in scope” than Tuesday’s strikes and said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps coastal radars, anti-ship missile positions and air defense systems were among the targets, according to Axios.
Iranian state media reported explosions in the southern port city of Chabahar – which is about 300 miles south of the Strait of Hormuz – Konarak, Bandar Abbas, Sirik and the Persian Gulf islands of Qeshm and Abu Musa.
Blasts were also reported in the northern Persian Gulf port city of Bushehr.
CENTCOM revealed late Wednesday night that US forces struck “approximately 90 Iranian military targets including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline.”
“We just hit them very hard,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, after leaving the NATO summit in Turkey. “We hit them 20:1. Every time they hit us we’re going to hit 20 [targets].”
“They have very little left and they want to make a deal so badly,” the president continued. “They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so bad.
“I just don’t know if they’re worthy of making the deal. I don’t know if they’re going to honor the deal.”
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment but Trump earlier declared the cease-fire “over” and he no longer wants to deal with “sick” regime leaders.
“I don’t like them at all. And frankly, I think we wasted a lot of time with them, I think we should just do our business,” Trump said at the NATO summit in Turkey.
When asked by a reporter if the preliminary peace deal Trump signed on June 17 was dead, the president replied: “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum.”
The president also threatened to take out Iran’s critical infrastructure, including bridges and even desalination plants, the latter of which could constitute a war crime.
Along with punishing strikes, Trump once again suggested that the US could take over Kharg Island, the oil hub where the bulk of Iran’s crude is produced.
On Tuesday, US forces battered Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in response to Iran’s attacks on three commercial ships in the strait earlier in the week.
The strikes reportedly hit Iranian military targets in Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Bandar Mashahr.
In total, more than 80 targets were hit with precision munitions in Tuesday night’s strikes, according to CENTCOM.
Iran struck back with its own attacks on US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, including at the Isa and Ali Al Salem Air Bases.
Iranian officials reportedly vowed to hit the US twice as hard over any additional strikes while warning that the Strait of Hormuz would once again be closed.
The 14-point memorandum of understanding agreed to last month called for a 60-day window to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while negotiations continued on the fate of Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Iran assets.
Despite the repeated attacks, Trump maintained that all-out war would not reignite because the US would always be able to hit Iran harder.
“I don’t think it’s going to start again. I think it’s going to go very quickly,” he told reporters in Ankara.
“They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder. When they hit, we hit 10 times harder, you know. We hit much harder than they do,” he added.
Tehran, however, has insisted that commercial shipping vessels use regime-approved sea routes while transiting the strait and has attacked tankers that have opted to take a route along the Omani coast, preferred by the US and its allies.
The latest round of US strikes is the fourth since the MOU was signed.
