US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States could carry out further strikes on Iran, telling reporters at the White House that Washington had already hit Tehran hard and might go further. “This should have been done a long time ago by other presidents, the Iran war, and we’ve knocked the hell out of them, and we may do it a little bit further,” Trump said before leaving for a campaign rally in Iowa, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via AnewZ
Trump said there was a political cost to the war but insisted Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. “There’s a price to pay, which I knew immediately when I did it. But we can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said. ANI reported the same remarks on Friday, including his warning that Iran will never be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapon.
Source: ANI
Asked about public reaction to the war, Trump said opinion was divided: “Well, in one way they love it because I’m doing what should have been done by other presidents. In another way, maybe they don’t.” He gave no timeline and no details of what further action might involve.
Speaking at the White House before an Iowa campaign rally, Trump said the US had “knocked the hell out of” Iran and “may do it a little bit further”; that there is “a price to pay” for the war; and that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. He announced no specific new operation.
The remarks extend a line Trump set out a day earlier, when he said Washington is not negotiating with Tehran and that something would happen “fairly soon” one way or the other. Read: Trump says US is “not negotiating” with Iran
The New York Times has reported that the US and Israeli militaries have drawn up plans for possible renewed strikes on Iran after the November 3 US midterm elections, though it is far from certain that Trump will approve them. Awaaz Punjab reported those plans earlier; Tehran has dismissed such reporting as pressure tactics. No new strike was announced on Thursday.
Trump’s warning came on the same day Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said seven vessels had been hit in the Persian Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz and warned the US of a wider response. The United States pushed back on the claim, and Trump accused Tehran of inventing attacks to push oil prices up before the midterms. The vessel claims have not been independently verified, and the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency has issued no corresponding incident reports.
What is solid
- Trump said at the White House on Thursday that the US had “knocked the hell out of” Iran and “may do it a little bit further” (Reuters; ANI).
- Trump said a day earlier that the US is not negotiating with Iran and that something would happen “fairly soon”.
- Iran’s IRGC Navy said on Thursday that seven vessels were hit near Hormuz — the claim itself was made; the incidents are disputed.
What is only claimed
- Whether the seven vessels were actually hit: the US disputes Iran’s account and the claims have not been independently verified.
- Whether the US will carry out further strikes: plans have been reported by the New York Times, but no new operation has been announced or confirmed.
Why it matters beyond Washington: any further US strikes on Iran would again put Gulf shipping, oil supplies and regional air routes at risk. Lakhs of Indian and Punjabi workers live and work in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and other Gulf states, and earlier phases of this war disrupted flights and energy markets across the region.