Trump threatens to ‘smack’ Iran after claiming US blew energy hub 'to smithereens' in AI video
Attacking Kharg, which handled 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war, would severely disrupt its energy trade and put huge pressure on its economy
Donald Trump has branded Iran a “failed nation” and warned the US could still “smack” it, despite claiming Tehran’s military capability has been severely degraded.
Listen to this article
“They’ve got 350% inflation. They have no currency. They’re not paying their soldiers,” the US president told reporters on Monday.
“Their leaders are largely dead. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their surveillance equipment is almost entirely gone.
“That doesn’t mean we won’t smack them. We’ll see what happens.”
Mr Trump also said the situation in the Strait of Hormuz was “extremely good”, claiming “many, many” ships had passed through the key waterway overnight - adding that Iranians “don’t know who their leader is”.
It comes after Mr Trump claimed Iran's Kharg Island energy hub was "blown to smithereens", despite no evidence of an attack - as both sides trade strikes in the Middle East.
Read more: 'People were screaming and running': One dead and 15 missing after flash flood hits Grand Canyon
Read more: Trump strikes Iran for the first time in a month - as Tehran vows 'punishment'
"Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT," Trump said on social media, but gave no further details.
There was no other evidence that the Iranian energy hub was under attack.
An accompanying AI-generated video clip showed dramatic explosions on an oil refinery.
Attacking Kharg, which handled 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war launched by U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28, would severely disrupt its energy trade and put huge pressure on its economy.
Iran responded to an earlier U.S. attack on rocket launchers on its island of Larak, about 660 km (410 miles) east of Kharg, with an assault on two U.S. bases in Jordan, Iranian media said.
The return to hostilities followed weeks in which the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to punish Tehran and its business partners with costly economic sanctions, shifting away from military options.
Earlier today, Trump posted "Iran is officially a Failed Nation. IT IS DEAD!"
He raged: "They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police, Inflation is at 300%, and their leadership is in total disarray and incapable of properly representing the country."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday new secondary sanctions were likely to be unveiled weekly in the effort to pressure Iran, with an initial focus on banks.
"We're starting with the banks, and we're telling the banks it's not okay to have Iranian money and to aid the regime," Bessent said in an interview.
After imposing penalties on the United Arab Emirates branches of Egypt's Banque Misr on Friday over alleged financial links to Iran, Bessent said the next step may be cutting off an institution entirely from the dollar-based financial system.
"You're going to see a lot more of these every week," Bessent told Reuters, ahead of a meeting of Group of 20 finance leaders.
In describing the first known U.S. military strikes since late July, a U.S. official said forces attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island.
The small island in the Strait of Hormuz near the strategic port of Bandar Abbas overlooks shipping lanes at the mouth of the Gulf, giving it a key role in tension over Iran, maritime security and global energy supplies.
"Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz," the source added.
In retaliation, Iran launched ballistic missiles at Jordan, targeting two U.S. bases. Jordan's armed forces had intercepted eight missiles that entered its airspace, state television said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and vowed a "response and punishment" from Tehran, according to Iranian state media.
In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said it took "limited, precise" action against minelaying forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that posed an "imminent threat" in the Strait of Hormuz.
It gave no details.After the U.S. strikes, Iran attacked U.S. forces station in Jordan, a Fox News reporter said on Sunday, citing a U.S. source.
Nearly all incoming missiles "have been intercepted at this point," the reporter said on X, flagging a lack of significant impact.
Amid threats to shipping, the number of visible commodity vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five a day over the weekend, shipping data showed.
The actual number could be higher as some vessels have switched off automatic identification systems to evade attacks.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait and Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines would be destroyed.
While Trump has repeatedly said the Strait of Hormuz is open, Iran's Revolutionary Guards' navy had called those statements "an obvious lie", reiterating that it remained closed to ships without Iranian permission.
The waterway carried nearly a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before it was blockaded in the six-month-old Iran war.
Iran is the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The White House and the U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.