President Donald Trump on Monday said the US would respond forcefully to an overnight Iranian attack on American bases in Jordan and the UAE.
“We’re going to hit them hard,” he told Fox News. “There will be a response.”
Mr Trump said US air defences intercepted all but one of the Iranian missiles. One was allowed to pass because it wasn't set to hit anything “significant”, he added. Jordan’s military said it had intercepted eight missiles.
Mr Trump also said US sanctions on Iran were “kicking in really strongly”, adding that Iran was eager for talks, but questioning whether its leaders could be trusted to reach a deal.
The attack came after the US, for the first time in a month, launched missiles and drones at Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said it had taken “limited, precise action” after detecting Iranian preparations to lay new mines in the strait.
Last week, Mr Trump claimed the US Navy had cleared the strait of mines, a claim Iran rejected.
Also on Monday, Mr Trump said Iran was a “failed nation”, claiming its military and economy had been devastated and its leadership was incapable of governing. “Iran is officially a failed nation. IT IS DEAD!” he wrote on Truth Social.
The President also claimed that more than 100,000 protesters had been killed by the Iranian government, without providing evidence or a source for the figure. The toll is a sharp rise from his last estimate. In July, he said more than 54,000 people had been killed. He called for Iran’s leaders to be prosecuted for “war crimes against humanity”.
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, said on X that the Iranian attacks on Gulf states and Jordan had "proven to be a failure".
Highlighting the need to address the political and economic aspects of the six-month conflict, he repeated his warning that the "state of neither war nor peace" cannot persist after the UAE and Jordan responded to renewed attacks from Iran.
Dr Gargash said such efforts must begin by halting escalation and restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the US is doubling down on its sanctions regime against Iran in hopes that placing greater economic strain on the country will force it to the negotiating table, after military operations and a naval blockade failed to force Tehran to capitulate.
Mr Trump said on Monday that the US sanctions on Iran were “kicking in really strongly”, adding that Tehran was eager for talks but questioning whether they can be trusted to reach a deal.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed the sanctions on Monday at the G20 ministerial in Asheville, North Carolina, where he is expected to hold discussions with his counterparts this week on joining Washington's latest economic pressure campaign.
The new front, called Operation Economic Outcast, broadens the scope of secondary sanctions the US can place on countries and businesses that engage with Iran.
The Treasury Secretary welcomed the European Union's commitment to placing sanctions on Iran as Washington seeks global support in severing Tehran's financial lifelines. He warned that those who engage with Tehran risk being cut off from the dollar-based financial system.
Mr Bessent also said the recent Iranian attacks in the region suggested it was taking the threat of US sanctions seriously. “I would think that they are lashing out kinetically because they are losing economically,” he said.
