President Donald Trump threatened a forceful U.S. response and posted an AI-generated video depicting explosions at Iran’s Kharg Island after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at American forces in Jordan, while renewed fighting around the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices more than 3% higher.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump warned Monday that the United States will retaliate against Iran after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at American forces in Jordan, escalating renewed hostilities surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and raising fresh concerns over global oil supplies.
“We’re going to hit them hard,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst during a Monday phone call.
“There will be a response.”
The warning followed an Iranian missile attack against two U.S. bases in Jordan on Sunday, which itself came after American forces struck two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launchers on Iran’s Larak Island.
A U.S. source told Fox News that Iran fired at least eight ballistic missiles at American forces in Jordan but caused no significant damage.
Trump said American air defenses intercepted most of the incoming missiles and deliberately allowed one missile to continue because military officials determined it was not going to strike anything.
Despite promising retaliation, Trump suggested negotiations with Tehran remained possible.
“They want to meet so badly,” Trump said. “I just don’t know if you can count on a deal with them.
“The sanctions are kicking in really strongly.”
The latest confrontation has centered heavily on the Strait of Hormuz, where U.S. officials said Revolutionary Guard forces had been preparing rockets designed to deploy additional sea mines into one of the world’s most important oil-shipping corridors.
U.S. Central Command described Sunday’s American operation on Larak Island as “limited, precise action” against Iranian minelaying forces that represented an “imminent threat” to commercial shipping and the free flow of global commerce.
Iran responded with both military action and warnings of substantially larger retaliation if U.S. attacks continue.
Iran Threatens Retaliation ‘Dozens of Times Greater’
A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Monday that Tehran intends to answer every American strike with force “dozens of times greater.”
The source pointed to Iran’s missile attack against U.S. forces in Jordan following the Larak Island strikes as evidence that “no target in the region is beyond Tehran’s reach.”
Iran also warned commercial vessels that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz could worsen for ships that violate what Tehran described as Iranian rules governing passage through the waterway.
Despite the rhetoric, the Iranian source characterized the latest exchange as a “limited and contained confrontation,” suggesting Tehran was not publicly describing the renewed fighting as an expansion into a broader regional war.
The competing signals came as both governments continued combining military operations with economic threats.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that Iran’s renewed military activity reflected the damage being inflicted by U.S. economic pressure.
“I would think that they are lashing out kinetically because they are losing economically,” Bessent told reporters during a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in North Carolina.
He said Iranian officials understand the seriousness of U.S. sanctions and indicated that the Trump administration intends to maintain and expand that pressure.
Iran’s economy “doesn’t have to collapse,” Bessent said, but the government needs to “come to its senses.”
The administration is expected to impose additional secondary sanctions intended to further restrict countries, companies and financial institutions continuing to facilitate Iranian commerce.
Iranian officials have increasingly acknowledged the effects of declining oil exports and U.S. sanctions.
The Iranian rial has fallen to approximately 2.1 million per U.S. dollar, described as a historic low.
CENTCOM Rejects Iranian Claim That Supertanker Hit Mines
The confrontation has also produced competing claims over shipping conditions inside the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that a supertanker traveling along the southern route through the waterway struck two mines and was brought to a halt.
U.S. Central Command publicly rejected the assertion in an X post.
“[N]o ships have hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM wrote, describing Iran’s account as “yet another IRGC attempt to intimidate regional commercial shipping through disinformation.”
The denial comes after U.S. forces had undertaken efforts to clear sea mines from international shipping lanes in the strait.
Washington says Sunday’s Larak Island strike was conducted after U.S. forces detected preparations for another Iranian effort to deploy mines.
The resulting Iranian missile retaliation against American bases in Jordan restarted direct military exchanges after roughly a month without known U.S. strikes inside Iran.
Trump Declares Iran a ‘Failed Nation’
Trump coupled his threat of further military action with another sweeping attack on Iran’s government and economy.
“Iran is officially a Failed Nation,” Trump wrote Monday. “IT IS DEAD! They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police, Inflation is at 300%, and their leadership is in total disarray and incapable of properly representing the country.
“The only thing they have is FAKE NEWS from the USA, a willingness to kill their protesters (now over 100,000 people dead. They must be tried for war crimes against humanity!), and a good line of ‘BULLSH––.’ Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
The post followed the Iranian ballistic missile attack against U.S. forces in Jordan and came as the administration sought to increase pressure on Tehran on both military and financial fronts.
Fox News reported that Iranian officials have increasingly acknowledged pressure from sanctions and reduced oil exports.
Regional intelligence sources have also warned that worsening economic conditions could contribute to renewed unrest inside Iran.
Kharg Island Emerges as Possible U.S. Retaliation Target
Trump also drew attention to Kharg Island, Iran’s principal oil-export hub, by posting an artificial intelligence-generated video portraying the island being destroyed by explosions.
The post appeared to threaten a possible future attack on the strategic facility after Iran’s missile strikes against U.S. bases.
A U.S. official later told Reuters that American forces had not attacked Kharg Island in the overnight operations.
The actual strikes were against two launchers on Larak Island, approximately 410 miles east of Kharg.
Trump’s AI-generated video depicted Kharg Island “being blown to smithereens,” according to the information provided.
An Iranian energy official dismissed the president’s post as “laughable,” saying conditions on the island remained calm and petroleum operations were continuing normally.
Kharg Island has major strategic importance because it handled approximately 90% of Iranian oil exports before the current war.
An attack on the facility could therefore carry considerably greater economic implications than the limited strikes against the Larak Island launchers.
The president did not announce that a strike on Kharg had been ordered.
Oil Prices Jump More Than 3%
Energy markets reacted quickly to the renewed exchanges.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.91 Monday, or 3.49%, to $86.31 per barrel.
The increase followed Sunday’s U.S. strikes against the Iranian launchers and Tehran’s subsequent ballistic missile attack against American bases in Jordan.
“Renewed military strikes in the Middle East and concerns of further oil supply disruptions have lifted oil prices,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, adding that markets would focus closely on whether the fighting escalates or begins to subside.
Trump is simultaneously pursuing a major oil agreement with Venezuela, but fresh hostilities surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have increased concerns about immediate supply disruptions.
Wall Street futures declined as investors assessed both the possibility of additional military action and the inflationary implications of higher energy prices.
The rise in oil prices is also adding pressure to the outlook for U.S. interest rates.
Traders placed the probability of a Federal Reserve rate increase at the September meeting at nearly 60%, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
That was up sharply from 41.4% a week earlier.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh had said policymakers may need to raise rates if inflation fails to return toward the central bank’s 2% target.
“Chair Warsh delivered a distinctly more hawkish message than investors anticipated, making it abundantly clear that policy easing is not on the horizon,” said David Chao, global market strategist for Asia Pacific at Invesco.
The combination of geopolitical instability, higher energy prices and renewed inflation fears could place additional pressure on financial markets heading into September, historically a difficult month for equities.
The immediate question, however, remains how far the renewed U.S.-Iran exchange will go.
Iran is publicly threatening retaliation “dozens of times greater” for additional American attacks while simultaneously describing the current confrontation as limited.
Trump is promising to “hit them hard,” raising the possibility of further strikes while also saying Iranian leaders are seeking negotiations.
Kharg Island has now emerged as one possible symbol of that pressure after Trump’s AI-generated video, although U.S. officials have confirmed the critical oil-export facility was not struck in the latest operation.
For now, the renewed battle over the Strait of Hormuz has already produced direct missile exchanges, additional sanctions pressure, a sharp move in oil prices and heightened concerns that another round of retaliation could threaten energy infrastructure and commercial shipping across the region.
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