President Donald Trump says the US military is prepared to strike Iran “very hard tonight,” a statement that implies he has abandoned the diplomatic route.

Mr Trump, in a post on Truth Social, also threatened to seize “total control” of Iran’s oil and gas hubs. These threats follow Iran’s announcement of complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the US and Iran began exchanging retaliatory strikes on Tuesday night after Tehran downed an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange further escalated the tension in the Middle East. The US also launched a second wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday, after which Iran retaliated with missile strikes on US bases in the region.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claimed these strikes are part of the ongoing negotiations for a permanent ceasefire. He also stated that they were launched in “self-defense.”

On Wednesday, the Iranian military ordered the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all vessels, including oil tankers and commercial vessels, after a wave of US strikes targeted key facilities.

The IRGC threatened to fire at any ship that attempted to pass the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route carrying one-fifth of global oil trade and a main point of contention in its peace proposal with the US.

Iran said the US rendered the ceasefire “practically meaningless” with its strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Iranian media reported attacks in numerous locations, including the port city of Bandar Abbas, the island of Qeshm, and the southern towns of Sirik, Minab, and Karaj, west of Tehran.

Iran, however, did not share information on the extent of the damage caused by the strikes.

Mr Trump, in his latest remark on the war, said the US, in the “not too distant future,” will cease control of Kharg Island and “other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of Iran’s oil and gas markets.

He further noted that this will be much like it did “with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly.”

Mr Trump, who previously said Iran would agree to a deal in “a few days,” had accused Tehran of taking ‘too long’ to negotiate and threatened to have the country “pay the price for it” on Wednesday.

“Iran is all talk and no action. They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them; now they’ll have to pay the price!!!” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The US president also told Fox News that Iran had a chance to sign a deal and survive and that he may keep going with more strikes given the slow pace of negotiations.

Meanwhile, Iran’s strike against the US continues to target the Gulf states. This paper reported that Tehran responded to the US attack this week with a round of strikes on US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan.

Iran’s foreign ministry said it targeted US military assets in the region.

Trump threatens to strike Iran hard tonight

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