After the US and Iran exchanged gunfire for the first time in weeks, amid battle for control of the Hormuz Strait, US President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to hit Iran “hard.” His Treasury Secretary also pledged to maintain the pressure campaign aimed at weakening Tehran’s economy.
The two countries remain locked in a standoff after six months of fighting. The US continues its counter-blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran maintains its blockade of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Iran quickly retaliated after the US launched missile strikes on an Iranian island in the Hormuz Strait of on Sunday, targeting US military positions across the Middle East.
Trump then threatened further retaliation, raising fears that the latest exchange could trigger a renewed escalation of the conflict.
“We’re going to hit them hard,” Trump said, according to a Fox News reporter who spoke to him briefly. “There will be a response.”
The United States reported that it launched strikes against Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island to prevent Tehran from deploying mines in the critical maritime transit route.
Iran responded by launching missile and drone strikes against Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, claiming to target U.S. military personnel deployed in those nations.
However, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian subsequently called for diplomatic dialogue on Monday.
“We continue to strive for a path of agreement and understanding, and we believe that continuing the war is neither in our interest, nor in the interest of the region,” he said at a summit in Kyrgyzstan, adding “the solution to the existing problems is dialogue and cooperation.”
Missile and Drone Attacks
Iranian state media reported that the U.S. strike on Larak Island on Sunday left three people dead and several others injured.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed its ballistic missile strikes on two U.S. air facilities in Jordan caused extensive damage.
However, Donald Trump told Fox News that nearly all missiles targeting U.S. forces were intercepted, except for one deemed non-threatening. The Jordanian military stated it shot down eight incoming missiles, though it did not identify their point of origin.
Iran further claimed to have downed an American drone over the Strait of Hormuz and targeted U.S. service members at a military base in the UAE.
Emirati authorities in Abu Dhabi dismissed reports of an attack on Al Minhad Air Base as unfounded, though they confirmed intercepting a drone over UAE territorial waters.
Hormuz Strait Backstory
Trump has claimed that the US Navy has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, even though commercial shipping remains restricted six months into the conflict. Washington also said last week that it had completed operations to remove explosives from the waterway.
Iran, however, continues to claim control of the maritime channel. On Monday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a “rogue” oil tanker hit two mines while attempting to use what it described as an “illegal route,” causing the vessel to catch fire near the strait.
The US Navy rejected the claim, saying “no ships have hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz” and describing the report as “disinformation.”
Mediators have spent months trying to end the conflict, but an earlier ceasefire and memorandum of understanding eventually collapsed.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state television on Monday that “the solution is completely clear and straightforward”, arguing that the United States must return to its previous commitments.
Iran has continued to pressure Washington to rejoin the earlier agreement as efforts to resolve the conflict remain stalled.
Read Also: Tehran Retaliates with Missiles on Jordanian Bases After US Strikes Iran’s Larak Island
