Trump threatens massive Iran strikes after Gulf attacks

President Donald Trump has threatened "massive strikes" against Iran, escalating a weeks-long military confrontation in the Gulf. The threat came after Iran launched retaliatory attacks on US allies, including Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.

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I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.

Trump told news website Axios that he was "considering a massive attack" that would be "bigger than ever before" and that he was "close to making a decision." This follows 12 consecutive nights of US strikes on Iran, which Iranian media reported hit bridges and tunnels. The escalating conflict has reportedly destroyed an interim peace deal signed last month.

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an eye for an eye

Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned of an "eye for an eye" response to future attacks. On Thursday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks targeting US military assets in Jordan and Kuwait, and a telecommunications tower in Kuwait, stating it was retaliation for similar strikes on Iranian infrastructure. The IRGC asserted that the US, not Iran, had violated Kuwait's "territorial integrity and sovereignty."

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The US, not Iran, had breached the Gulf state’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

Further destabilizing the region, Yemen's Houthi rebels fired on two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation as "out of control" and "teetering on the edge of the unimaginable," warning that "one crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next."

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The armed forces’ retaliatory attacks will continue as long as the US attacks on the country’s infrastructure and coastal areas continue.