President Donald Trump said Wednesday the US would continue "hard" strikes against Iran after the military carried out attacks on Iranian targets overnight in retaliation for the downing of an attack helicopter above the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said American forces "hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit them again hard today," signaling indifference to the ramifications of further attacks on negotiations to formally end the US-Israeli war against Iran.
"We're going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard. Yeah, well, we are based on the helicopter, I guess we have the right to do that, you know. They shot down a very, very incredible, actually an incredible machine," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, alluding to Monday's downing of an American Apache helicopter.
"We'll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers," he said.
Trump claimed the US has "been taking out millions of barrels of oil" in a series of covert actions during the war, suggesting the end goal has been to stabilize global market prices.
"Nobody knows it. You know who doesn't know about it? Iran, until right now. We took out the other night 22 ships late at night with no lights, because they don't have any radar, because we blasted the crap out of it," he said. "We took that. That's why oil is $85 a barrel."
The US-Israeli war on Iran, begun in February, has roiled global energy markets, spiking prices on everything from gas to liquefied natural gas and jet fuel. The increased inputs have skyrocketed prices on a wide array of reliant industries, affecting consumers around the globe.
Trump's decision to escalate attacks following Iran's shoot down of an Apache followed months of regional tensions that began Feb. 28, after Israeli and US strikes on Iran triggered a cycle of military confrontations, retaliatory attacks and diplomatic disputes.
Iran and Israel also exchanged strikes in recent days before pulling back, highlighting the fragility of a ceasefire and efforts by regional and international mediators to revive diplomacy and prevent a broader conflict.
