Trump Warns Iran After Second Wave of U.S. Strikes: ‘Every Time They Hit Us, We’re Going to Hit Them 20 to 1’

U.S. and Iran trade fire as Strait of Hormuz crisis threatens to reignite full-scale war

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump said he was uncertain whether the United States and Iran were sliding back into a full-scale war after U.S. forces launched a second wave of strikes on Iranian military targets and Tehran retaliated against Gulf states hosting American forces.

“I don’t know. We’d win it very quickly,” Trump told reporters late Wednesday aboard Air Force One as he returned from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

The president’s comments came after the U.S. military carried out roughly 170 strikes over two days, targeting Iranian missile sites, drone facilities, coastal surveillance systems, air-defense assets, naval capabilities, logistics hubs, bridges, and rail lines used to move military equipment near the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command said the strikes were intended to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian mariners in one of the world’s most important energy corridors.

“Every time they hit us, we’re going to hit them 20 to 1,” Trump said.

Trump also posted images and videos of the strikes on Truth Social, describing the attacks as retribution for Iran’s earlier strikes on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote.

Iran Retaliates Against Gulf Targets

Iran responded by launching missiles and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which host U.S. military forces. Kuwait said its air defenses were confronting incoming missile and drone attacks, while Bahrain warned citizens to seek shelter. U.S. officials said most of the projectiles were intercepted and that some strikes caused minimal damage but no casualties. Reuters also reported Iranian attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states, including Kuwait and Bahrain, after the latest American strikes.

Jordan said Thursday that its air defenses intercepted eight Iranian missiles, underscoring how quickly the conflict is again spilling beyond Iran’s borders and threatening to pull the wider region into another dangerous round of escalation.

The latest exchange followed Trump’s declaration that he considered the ceasefire arrangement with Iran effectively over. Speaking in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump warned that the United States would likely continue striking Iran if Tehran persisted.

“We hit them very hard last night,” Trump said. “We’ll probably hit them hard again tonight.”

Strait of Hormuz Becomes the Flashpoint

The renewed fighting began after Iran launched missiles and drones at three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, including a liquefied natural gas tanker. The waterway remains one of the most strategic chokepoints in the world, and any Iranian attempt to control or close shipping routes immediately threatens global energy markets.

The United States and Iran had reached a memorandum of understanding in June to pause the war for 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and allow negotiations to continue over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and broader regional conduct. But Iran has reportedly sought to retain control over the waterway by warning vessels to use routes approved by Tehran.

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a key negotiator, said Tehran would not back down.

“America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free,” Ghalibaf posted on X. “Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit.”

He added that the Strait of Hormuz would only reopen under “Iranian arrangements,” not American threats.

Peace Deal Unraveling

The latest strikes mark the most serious challenge yet to the fragile peace process that began after the war opened on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes that killed Iran’s top leadership and devastated large portions of its military infrastructure.

The interim ceasefire began April 7, followed by the June memorandum of understanding. But U.S. officials say Iran used the lull to rebuild parts of its military posture near the Strait of Hormuz, replacing destroyed fixed radar sites with small mobile systems and repairing or digging out hundreds of missiles and launchers damaged in earlier strikes.

Trump also revoked a license allowing Iran to sell oil on the open market, removing one of Tehran’s major economic incentives under the interim arrangement.

Still, Trump said Iran had reached out about negotiations.

“They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so badly,” Trump said. “I don’t know if they’re going to honor the deal; that’s the problem.”

Iran has not publicly confirmed new talks.

For now, the Middle East stands once again on the edge of a wider war. The Strait of Hormuz remains the center of the crisis, Iran is signaling defiance, and Trump is making clear that any further attacks on shipping or U.S. interests will be met with overwhelming force.

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