US-Iran exchange reignites tensions; Trump promises response, Iran calls for dialogue
The United States and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend, breaking weeks of relative calm, and President Donald Trump has said Washington will respond “hard” to the latest attacks. The escalation has raised concerns about a return to major hostilities in a conflict that has already lasted six months.
On Sunday, US forces carried out strikes on the Iranian island of Larak in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington said the attack targeted rocket launchers to prevent Tehran from planting mines in the key shipping lane. Iran’s state media reported that three people were killed and several others wounded in the strike.
Iran quickly retaliated with missile and drone attacks aimed at US forces in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Tehran said it targeted two US air bases in Jordan, with its Revolutionary Guards claiming the attack caused “heavy damage.” Jordan’s army said it intercepted eight missiles, though it did not state their origin. The UAE said it intercepted a drone over its waters and dismissed Iranian claims that Al Minhad Air Base had been targeted as “baseless.”
Speaking to a Fox News reporter, Trump said, “We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response.” Earlier on Monday, he described Iran on social media as “a Failed Nation,” saying its military was decimated, its finances were crumbling and its leadership was in total disarray.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, called for dialogue. Speaking at a summit in Kyrgyzstan, he said, “We continue to strive for a path of agreement and understanding, and we believe that continuing the war is neither in our interest, nor in the interest of the region.” He added that the solution to existing problems is dialogue and cooperation.
In other incidents, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they shot down two US drones over the Strait of Hormuz, one on Sunday and another on Monday evening. The Guards also reiterated a warning to regional neighbours not to allow the US to use their territory to carry out attacks. Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a tanker leaving the strait was hit by three “unknown projectiles” off the northeastern edge of Oman, with no known environmental impact or casualties.
The exchange came amid a US pivot to “economic warfare” against Iran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at a G20 meeting in North Carolina, said Washington would continue exerting pressure. He said a turning point could come “within weeks or months.”
Iran has been exerting its own economic pressure through its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carried about one-fifth of the world’s oil before the war. The blockade has roiled global markets and driven up prices for American voters in a closely fought midterm election year. Washington has said it cleared explosives from the waterway and claimed its navy has “total control” of the strait, but Tehran insists it remains in charge of the sea lane.
