Trump: Iran to be 'hit hard' as more strikes set to resume

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(The Center Square) – After carrying out nearly two dozen strikes against Iran overnight, President Donald Trump is not backing down, confirming that the Islamic Republic will be “hit hard again” Wednesday.

Trump told reporters during a press conference in the Oval Office Wednesday that bombings would resume.

“We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them hard again today,” with the president adding that “we have the right to do that.”

Trump indicated a deal with the Islamic Republic may still be on the table, but expressed frustration at Iran stringing the U.S. along.

“We’ll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers because you know what? They dealt with some very stupid presidents,” Trump told reporters.

Trump noted that it was Iran’s attack on a U.S. Army Apache by a drone that set the impending strikes on the Islamic Republic in motion.

One thing the president hasn’t commented on is whether the latest strikes mark the end of the more than two-month-old ceasefire, which has been tested in recent weeks.

Early Wednesday, Trump put out a Truth Social post saying the Islamic Republic would pay the price for not making a deal.

“Iran’s military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore – they have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president’s post comes hours after the U.S. military carried out about 20 strikes on the Islamic Republic, including radar and air defense systems at Iranian sites along the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded by targeting U.S. military bases by launching missiles toward Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

The retaliatory strikes come less than a day after an Iranian drone struck a U.S. Army Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. Two soldiers were rescued, uninjured, from the attack and downing of the chopper.

Before the ceasefire, which took effect April 8, the president warned Iran that the U.S. could strike infrastructure and power plants inside Iran if they didn’t come to the table.

For more than two months talks have been ongoing, with Trump appearing optimistic a deal was close to being struck, most recently Monday evening. Despite the prospect of restarting bombing operations, the president continues to keep the door open to a deal that would ensure Iran would not have a nuclear weapon.

Things between the U.S. and Iran began to reheat in the past few weeks, with the U.S. and the Islamic Republic exchanging fire, with U.S. Central Command describing the strikes as “self-defensive” in nature. Trump underscored that the ceasefire remained intact and talks were ongoing, describing them as “love taps.”