President Trump told Fox News after Iran launched a surprise attack on U.S. forces that the U.S. will 'beat the hell out of them.' He said the overnight U.S. strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq were coordinated with the Iraqi government, and expressed openness to future talks with Iran.
President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against Iran to its sharpest level yet on Wednesday evening, telling Fox News that the United States will 'beat the hell out of them' in response to a surprise attack on American forces. Speaking at 18:59 Jerusalem, Trump also confirmed that the overnight U.S. strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq were coordinated with the Iraqi government, and expressed openness to future talks with Iran, saying 'we're going to let them keep talking.' The statement caps a day of increasingly tough language from the president.
Earlier Wednesday, The Zioneer reported at 15:20 Jerusalem that Trump told Fox News the U.S. would 'hit Iran hard' after an attack on American forces. Minutes later, at 15:28, he added that the U.S. would 'knock them out of shape' and 'teach Iran a hard lesson.' A separate report at 15:31 noted his vow to 'dismantle' the Iranian regime. All of these statements emerged from the same Fox News interview, with the president's wording growing more forceful over the course of the conversation.
The current escalation follows a series of U.S. military actions and threats against Iran over recent weeks. On July 20, Trump confirmed that the U.S. had struck Iran overnight, saying the strikes honored three fallen soldiers. On July 15, he warned that the U.S. would strike Iran 'very hard' over three consecutive nights. The White House has maintained a high operational tempo, as The Zioneer reported on June 10 when Trump confirmed heavy strikes and vowed continued military action. The latest threat signals that the administration is keeping both a confrontational stance and a diplomatic door open.
What remains unclear is the scale of the surprise Iranian attack that prompted the latest statement, and whether it will trigger further U.S. retaliation beyond the overnight strikes already reported. Details of the attack on American forces are still unconfirmed.
4 developments
- DevelopingTrump tells Fox News: 'We haven't hit Iran hard enough yet'
- DevelopingTrump says US struck Iran with 'great force,' ratio 20:1; Iran called seeking a deal
- DevelopingTrump says US will strike Iran 'very hard' tonight, tomorrow, and the night after
- ConfirmedTrump: 'We will cripple Iran with full force, but we'll see how it ends'
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