Donald Trump has warned that Iran will 'no longer exist' if it continues to violate the ceasefire, after the US launched fresh strikes on Iranian military targets and Tehran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday evening that US aircraft had struck 'Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!' He added: 'There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!'
“US and Iran trade strikes; Trump warns Iran will 'no longer exist' after ceasefire violations.”
The latest escalation began when a one-way attack drone struck the Panama-flagged tanker M/T Kiku near the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday, according to US Central Command (Centcom). Centcom said it had 'hit 10 targets' in Iran in 'direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping'. The targets included military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by launching a joint missile and drone operation against 'eight key pieces of infrastructure' at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and the Fifth Naval Fleet in Port Salman, Bahrain, claiming they had been 'destroying them'. Both Bahrain and Kuwait denounced the attacks, although it was not clear what, if anything, had been hit. A US official told Reuters there were no reported US casualties or major damage to facilities.
The exchanges came less than two weeks after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding brokered by Pakistan, intended to halt the four-month-old war that has sent global oil prices soaring. The interim deal states both sides are 'not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other'. Each now accuses the other of violating that agreement.
Centcom said: 'Iran was given a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit MT Kiku.' The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the US 'brutal attacks' as a violation, adding that the US 'does not place the slightest value and credibility on its commitments, and breaking promises is part of its nature.'
In a separate statement, the IRGC warned that any further aggression would receive a 'crushing response' and that violating the ceasefire 'will lead to a complete halt to the process'. It said that under the memorandum, Iran has arrangements for controlling passage and navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and from now on 'violating ships will be dealt with more forcefully than in the past'.