’20 times harder’: ‘Explosions rock Iran again as Trump warns of ‘harder’ strikes for every attack

The United States carried out strikes against Iran for the second consecutive night on Wednesday, delivering a fresh setback to the hopes of a permanent peace deal. Multiple explosions were heard in Chabahar, Konarak, Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, and Sirik, near the Strait of Hormuz. According to reports, US forces hit the Islamic Republic’s coastal radars, air defence systems, and anti-ship missile positions.

The US Central Command said, “At the direction of the Commander in Chief, US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”

Trump warns of “20 times harder” strikes for every attack

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump threatened that “harder strikes” would be carried out in Iran. While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he warned of striking Iran 20 times harder for every attack, Al Jazeera reported. “We just hit them very hard, and I say we hit them 20 to one. Every time they hit us, we’re going to hit them 20,” Trump said.

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“If it happens again, it will get…”

On Wednesday evening, the US President shared a video on social media showing blasts and massive fires sending smoke billowing into the air, apparently taken from the ground in Iran. “This is in retribution for [Tuesday’s] bombing of ships by Iran,” the US president said, vowing: “If it happens again, it will get much worse,” he said.

Why did the US strike Iran?

The US strikes in Iran were carried out for the second night in a row on Wednesday in retaliation, targeting cities on the southern coast of Iran. The military action was launched in response to an alleged Iranian attack on a tanker that was transiting through the US-approved Omani route in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has, however, neither officially denied nor claimed responsibility for the attack. Following the US attack, Iran has threatened to paralyse the international oil flow and expand the war to the Red Sea.

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Iranian state media reports damage at the port of Chabahar

Iranian state media reported that a warehouse and maritime traffic control tower had been destroyed at the port of Chabahar. Additionally, it claimed that a firefighter was killed at Iranshahr International Airport. The reports, however, could not be independently verified by News24. The US bombing was more extensive than the attacks carried out on Tuesday, in which it hit over 80 targets, Axios reported.

The series of strikes marks the end of a truce agreed between the two countries following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. It also led to the US revoking the temporary halt on sanctions imposed upon Iranian crude oil.

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