DUBAI/ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, Aug 31 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Monday that he would “hit them hard” following Iran's missile attack on two U.S. air bases in Jordan, which was in retaliation for a U.S. strike on Iran's Larak Island.
According to a Fox News reporter, Trump said, “We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response.”
A high-ranking Iranian official told Reuters that the recent hostilities marked a “limited and contained confrontation,” but warned that Iran would respond severely if attacked again.
Trump also claimed that U.S. air defenses successfully intercepted all Iranian missiles that could have caused damage and noted that new economic sanctions on Iran were having a significant effect, as reported by Fox News.
PILING ON ECONOMIC PRESSURE
Recently, Washington has intensified its efforts to penalize Tehran and its business allies with costly secondary sanctions, as diplomatic efforts remain stalled after six months of conflict initiated by U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed Trump on Monday, saying that the renewed exchanges of fire indicated that Iran was “lashing out” due to the detrimental impact of the new sanctions on its already struggling economy.
“They’re taking it very seriously… they’re in shock at the state of their economy,” Bessent told reporters at a G20 meeting in North Carolina. “I would think that they are lashing out kinetically because they are losing economically.”
Bessent informed Reuters on Sunday that new secondary sanctions would likely be announced weekly to apply pressure on Iran, initially focusing on banks.
US HIT IRANIAN ISLAND IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
U.S. forces attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, according to a U.S. official. This strike followed observations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
Tasnim news agency reported that three individuals were killed in the U.S. attack, with two of them identified as members of the Revolutionary Guards Navy, according to state-affiliated Nournews.
Larak is a small island in the strait near the key Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The Strait of Hormuz, which usually handles one-fifth of global oil shipments, has been effectively blocked since the war began.
A statement from the U.S. Central Command described the action as “limited, precise” targeting of Iranian Revolutionary Guards forces that posed an “imminent threat,” but did not provide further details.
In retaliation for the U.S. attacks in Jordan, Iran's military claimed to have targeted the Al Minhad air base in the UAE early on Monday. However, the UAE's defense ministry denied this claim.
Later, the UAE defense ministry stated that its air force engaged a drone coming from Iran over its territorial waters, without sharing additional details.
Iranian state TV reported that a supertanker caught fire after being hit by two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. military later refuted this claim.
PRESIDENT SAYS IRAN STILL WANTS NEGOTIATED END TO CONFLICT
The unnamed Iranian official, with insight into Iran’s decision-making, indicated that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz would “become worse for vessels that violate” Tehran's rules for passage through the waterway.
The official also stated that no target was beyond Iran's reach.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian took a softer approach on Monday, telling India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a regional security meeting in Kyrgyzstan that Iran still sought a negotiated end to the conflict.
“We are still trying to achieve an agreement and understanding, and we believe that continuing the war is in no one’s interest, neither ours, nor the region’s, nor humanity’s,” Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
‘BLOWN TO SMITHEREENS!!!’
Trump stirred irritation in Iran by sharing an AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform, which he claimed showed Iran’s oil hub Kharg Island being “blown to smithereens!!!”
There was no evidence of any attack, and a U.S. official confirmed that the military had not targeted Kharg Island during recent strikes. An Iranian official dismissed Trump’s post as “laughable.”
Reports indicated that the video featuring dramatic explosions was likely computer-generated, using software that detects AI-modified images.
The White House and U.S. Defense Department did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters outside of standard business hours.
Before the conflict, Kharg handled 90% of Iran’s oil exports, and an attack on it would significantly disrupt energy trade and pressure the economy.
Trump has yet to meet the objectives he set at the war's onset: dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, restricting its attacks on regional rivals, and enabling Iranians to overthrow their clerical leaders.