US-Iran News LIVE: US bombing will ‘get a lot worse’ if Iran doesn’t stop attacks, Trump warns | Today’s news
US-Iran News LIVE: President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that US bombing of Iran will increase significantly if the Islamic Republic continues to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“It’s retaliation for Iran’s bombing of ships yesterday. If it happens again, it will be much worse!” Trump said this in a post on the social network. The US president also reiterated his message when he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One, after returning from a NATO summit in Turkey.
“We just hit them very hard and I say we hit them 20 to one. Every time they attack us, we hit them 20,” Trump told reporters. “And we did last night. They did a little bit today, but it was really payback for last night.”
The US attacks Iran again
The US carried out several strikes against Iran on Wednesday in the southern port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik, as well as Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex.
Hostilities between Iran and the US were renewed earlier this week after Tehran struck three tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Iran, the interim ceasefire agreement gives it the right to control traffic through the strait, which the US does not agree to.
The US responded by carrying out strikes in Iran even as the country was in the middle of a funeral for its longtime Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed along with his family members on the first day of the war on February 28. The US also revoked the license allowing the sale of Iranian oil for the first time in years.
Iran retaliated with drone and ballistic missile attacks on Bahrain, home of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait, home of US military forces. Although both countries have acknowledged the strikes, the extent of damage, if any, is unclear.
Peace talks between the US and Iran are in doubt
The renewed hostilities have raised concerns about the collapse of the interim peace deal and future negotiations between the US and Iran, brokered by Pakistan and Qatar. Trump even suggested that further negotiations with Iran were a “waste of time,” adding that he was not sure he wanted to reach a peace deal with Tehran.
Follow Livemint for live updates from West Asia as tensions between Iran and the US escalate again.
