President Donald Trump said Wednesday he has terminated the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, threatened to strike the country 'hard tonight,' and vowed to destroy bridges, power stations, and water desalination plants if necessary. He also raised the possibility of seizing Iran's Kharg Island.
President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric sharply at 17:19 Jerusalem time on Wednesday, formally terminating the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, threatening to "strike Iran hard tonight," and vowing to destroy bridges, power stations, and water desalination plants. He also raised the possibility of seizing Iran's Kharg Island, a key oil terminal. These remarks go beyond earlier threats reported today.
The threats come after a cascade of statements earlier this afternoon. At 16:27 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported Trump's threat to destroy Iranian power plants and his declaration that the ceasefire was over (version 5). Within the same minute, he had claimed the US destroyed 28 Iranian boats and threatened further strikes (version 4), doubted a nuclear deal would hold while repeating the Kharg threat (version 3), said Iran was not sincere about a deal (version 2), and first mentioned seizing Kharg Island (version 1). At 16:36 Jerusalem, ynet reported Trump's warning that the US may seize Kharg and destroy power plants. The thread shows a rapid escalation in presidential rhetoric over the course of an hour.
The Zioneer has been tracking the US-Iran confrontation since late June. On Sunday, June 28, Trump announced US strikes on Iranian missile sites and warned the Islamic Republic could "cease to exist" if ceasefire breaches continued. On Monday, July 6, he said he could destroy all of Iran's bridges in an hour and shut down electricity in an afternoon. The current threats represent a further acceleration, with Trump now explicitly threatening a large-scale direct attack on infrastructure and terminating a formal agreement.
No official Iranian response has been reported yet. The specific terms of the terminated MOU were not detailed in Trump's remarks. The threat of a strike "tonight" remains a verbal threat; no movement of US forces has been confirmed at this time.
6 developments
- StrongTrump Threatens 'Very Hard' Strikes on Iran Tonight, Outlines Plan for Kharg Island Seizure
- StrongTrump announces end of ceasefire with Iran, vows 'very heavy' strike today
- DevelopingTrump: 'In my opinion, the MOU with Iran is dead' — Amit Segal (N12)
- StrongTrump threatens to seize Iran's Kharg Island; Iran warns 'no soldier will return alive'
Source and signal
- Internal intake