Trump Threatens Heavier Bombing if Iran Continues Attacks in Hormuz

United States President Donald Trump has threatened heavier bombing against Iran if the country continues to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for global oil and gas supplies. The threat was made after Trump ordered a fresh barrage of strikes targeting Iran on Wednesday (8/7) local time. Iranian state media reported a series of explosions at several locations along Iran’s southern coast after US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the latest wave of attacks. According to a report by the IRNA news agency, the sound of fighter jets was heard over Kish Island and several explosions rocked the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Konarak, and Chabahar, some of which suffered power outages. “This is in retaliation for the bombing of ships carried out by Iran yesterday. If it happens again, the strikes will be far worse!” Trump warned Iran in a statement via Truth Social. Trump’s post included an image purportedly showing a US bombing of a site in Iran. The US President reiterated his statement while speaking to reporters aboard the presidential aircraft, Air Force One, during the return journey from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. “We just hit them very hard, and I said we hit them at a ratio of 20 to one. Every time they hit us, we are going to hit back with 20. And we did that last night,” Trump said. Despite ordering the strikes, Trump also expressed hope that the latest military escalation would end soon and left the door open for further negotiations. Prior to ordering the latest strikes, Trump had said that a ceasefire between the US and Iran had ended, prompting mediators Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Nations to call for de-escalation. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One late Wednesday night, Trump claimed that Iran had “called a little while ago” and said Tehran was “very anxious to make a deal”. He did not provide further details about the phone call, including who spoke on behalf of Tehran, but later cast doubt on the value of any agreement, calling the Iranians “a little crazy”.