US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that American forces were striking Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, warning Tehran against retaliation.
"The United States is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump described the strikes as "large and powerful" and said they were in retaliation for Iran's "failed attempt" to plant sea mines in the strait.
He also cited an Iranian missile attack on a US base in Jordan, saying Iran fired eight missiles that were "all successfully knocked down."
Trump warned that any Iranian retaliation would prompt a heavier US response.
"If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level," he said.
Trump added that a larger attack was "waiting in the wings" and claimed it would leave "very little" of Iran.
Trump later told Fox News, "They tried to rebuild their radar because they can't see anything," adding that US forces "waited until it was almost built and then we hit it."
Trump warned that Iran would be "hit much harder" if it decided to retaliate. "If it goes a third time, they're going to be totally wiped out as a country," he said.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that he is "not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table," as some media reports claimed.
"I couldn't care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement. I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing," he added.
"They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?"
The US military's Central Command said earlier that American forces had begun striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran.
It said the strikes followed "attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region."
