President Donald Trump said Monday the United States would respond forcefully to Iran after the two countries traded strikes for the first time in more than a month, reigniting a conflict that has simmered since late February.
The exchange began over the weekend, when U.S. Central Command said it carried out a “limited, precise” strike on Iranian minelaying forces near Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, describing them as an imminent threat to shipping. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the strike killed and wounded several of its soldiers and retaliated with missile and drone attacks on two U.S. bases in Jordan, King Hussein and Al Azraq.
U.S. air defenses intercepted all but one of the incoming missiles, officials said; the remaining projectile was allowed through after being assessed as no threat.
“We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response,” Trump told Fox News by phone, according to the network. Speaking later at the White House, he characterized the planned response as narrow, saying much of Iran’s military leadership had already been killed and that its navy and air force had been “destroyed.” He added, “That doesn’t mean we won’t smack them.”
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran would respond to any American strike “dozens of times greater,” saying no target in the region was beyond its reach.
The renewed hostilities pushed oil prices sharply higher. Brent crude futures rose more than 3 percent to above $91 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained a similar amount to trade near $86 a barrel. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil trade normally passes, has been largely closed since the conflict began, with Iran imposing a blockade and the U.S. responding with its own restrictions on Iranian ports.
Monday’s exchange ended roughly a month of relative calm following a 13-day U.S. bombing campaign against Iranian military targets that Trump had paused in late July to allow room for diplomacy.
Neither government has indicated when or how the next phase of military action might unfold.
