'We will kill you.' Iran defiant as Trump moves to 'smack them.'
President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders are ratcheting up bellicose messages for each other as hostilities resume and the war appears perched to blow into a regional conflict with Tehran's continued attacks on Jordan and Kuwait.
The U.S. military launched strikes in Iran July 29 in response to a "surprise attack" by Tehran, with Trump saying he wanted to hit them "very hard" and "smack them a little bit" after Iran launched missiles at U.S. and Saudi forces in the week.
Iranian leaders have been defiant as the U.S. military campaign resumes after a short pause. A banner displayed in Tehran July 30 shows an image of Trump with the words “We will kill you.”
Trump has sought to wind down the war, signing a preliminary peace deal in June, but fighting picked back up this month as the two sides remain in conflict over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been targeting U.S. allies in the region, prompting Saudi Arabia to recently join in U.S. counterstrikes.
The U.S. attacked an Iranian proxy group in Iraq on July 28 and followed up with a “heavy wave of strikes” in Iran on July 29, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
CENTCOM said the U.S. strikes were in response to a ballistic missile attack by Iran on U.S. forces in the Middle East. The U.S. attacked “military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities” in Iran on July 29, CENTCOM said.
The latest round of attacks marked the end of a brief lull in fighting. The U.S. and Iran have been exchanging attacks since a preliminary peace deal fell apart. Trump signed the deal in June but it quickly began to falter amid jockeying for control of the strait.
The U.S. struck Iran for 13 straight days earlier in July in retaliation for Iranian attacks on shipping in the strait, pausing the strikes over the weekend before they picked back up this week. Four Americans were killed during the nearly two-week bout of fighting. Control of the strait, which carried 20% of the world's oil before the war, has been a major sticking point.
Iran’s army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, claimed it destroyed three F-35 fighter jets in Jordan, according to the official Islamic Republican News Agency. The army said it attacked Al Azraq Air Base with several ballistic missiles in retaliation for a U.S. strike on Iran’s Qeshm Island, which killed two parents and a child.
CENTCOM denied that any U.S. planes were damaged by Iran in recent attacks, saying "all missiles and drones were intercepted or failed to reach targeted areas."
The IRGC also warned other countries against supporting the United States, according to Iran’s official Tasnim news agency.
“Countries that are involved in helping the aggressor, if they do not correct their behavior, will receive a harsh response,” the IRGC statement said.
Images of defiance were visible in Tehran’s Azadi Square, where weapons reinforced the propaganda.
A banner depicting a bloodied President Donald Trump was flanked with the words: “We will kill you.”
The banner sat next to an Iranian missile system. A drone was also on display.
Trump says Iran is targeting him: 'I'm number one on the kill list.'
Trump suggested that diplomacy with Iran was resuming amid the pause in fighting, telling reporters aboard Air Force One during a trip to Michigan that "Iran took a beating over the last 14 days and they asked us very nicely 'Please stop, let's meet.'"
"And that's where we are right now, we'll see what happens," he added July 27.
U.S. forces struck "Iran-aligned terrorists" in Iraq the next day, with CENTCOM saying it was in response to more than 30 drone attacks directed by the IRGC over 72 hours. Trump announced during an Oval Office event July 29 that more U.S. strikes were coming, saying "we're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our turn to hit them."
"We got to smack them a little bit," he added.
Trump has threatened a major escalation as the war drags on, warning again on July 22 that he could hit Iranian bridges and power plants. He has repeatedly threatened to target civilian infrastructure, drawing criticism from international law experts, political leaders and human rights groups.
The IRGC also struck U.S. assets in Kuwait, at Ali Al Salem Air Base. The attack destroyed two drone hangars and a fuel storage facility, according to the Tasnim news agency.
“Iran has been launching Ballistic Missile strikes at American Bases in Kuwait and Jordan for the past several Hours,” Sayed Aragchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said on social media July 30.
Aragchi accused U.S. forces of firing rockets known as High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems from Kuwait into Iran.
“In response, more Iranians are demanding the full destruction of the Kuwaiti regime for its ongoing aggression and slaughter of Iranians just as it helped Saddam do in the 1980s,” Aragchi said on social media.
In a first in the war that started in February, Saudi Arabia publicly joined U.S. forces on July 29 in striking Houthi groups aligned with Iran in eastern Iraq. The strikes were in retaliation for drone attacks launched from Iraq against Saudi targets.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'We will kill you.' Iran defiant as Trump moves to 'smack them.'