US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday night that the US may be forced to “militarily complete the job" if Iran continued to violate the ceasefire.
Trump’s remarks came in a post on Truth Social after the US Army struck targets in the Strait of Hormuz for the second consecutive night.
“United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN! It is very possible that they will never learn!" Trump wrote.
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!"
A senior US official confirmed earlier that the United States struck Iranian targets in the area of the Strait of Hormuz early Sunday morning.
The official stated that the strikes were in response to an Iranian attack on a commercial vessel on Saturday near the coast of Oman.
At the same time, Iranian media reported explosions in the area near the port city of Sirik, and later also in the village of Maysan on Qeshm Island in the south of the country.
In response to the American strikes, Iran launched attacks in Bahrain and Kuwait, where the Kuwaiti military announced that the country's air defense systems were repelling "hostile missile and drone attacks."
The strikes marked the second time in as many nights that the US struck Iranian targets in the area of the Strait of Hormuz.
After Friday’s strikes, CENTCOM issued a statement which said that its forces conducted strikes against Iran “as a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz."
According to the statement, US aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran hit M/V Ever Lovely on June 25 with a one-way attack drone. It added that the Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack.
“The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire. Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor," said CENTCOM.
“CENTCOM forces continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait. The US military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect."