Donald Trump issued a chilling warning in just four words as he defended the war against Iran. Mr Trump said “Israel would be gone” if he were not president, adding “there would probably be no Middle East”.
His boast came as the US ratcheted up attacks on the Islamic Republic, striking Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday (August 30). It was the first military action in about a month. Iran said it launched missiles at US sites in Jordan in response.
Iranian state TV showed what it said were ballistic missiles being fired by Iran at US bases in Jordan.
Jordan’s armed forces said they intercepted eight missiles which entered the country’s airspace early on Monday (August 31).
US military officials disputed Iranian claims its strikes were an act of aggression, calling them a “limited, precise action” against what they said were Iranian mine-laying forces.
Semi-official news outlets in Iran reported sounds of explosions near Larak island in the Strait. The Revolutionary Guard in a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster noted “the martyrdom and injury of several of our fighters and compatriots”.
Mr Trump told Fox News the Iranian leadership were “violent” and “evil” people as he insisted Iran could never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
He told the broadcaster: “If they had a nuclear weapon, Israel would be gone. If I weren’t President, Israel would be gone and there would probably be no Middle East.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, urged rulers of Muslim countries to “know your real enemy, understand its plans and confront it”, the official IRNA news agency reported.
But Mr Trump insisted Iran has angered all of its allies and those who had been taken a neutral position towards the country.
The war has exposed divisions in the Muslim world after Iran struck targets in neighbouring Gulf Arab countries and restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran opposes the US military presence in the region.
Mr Trump claimed if Iran had had a nuclear weapon it would have fired it, adding: “I think the Middle East would have essentially been gone but Israel definitely would have been gone and I guess we would be next, or Europe or someplace.”
Days earlier the Trump administration announced it had shifted its focus to ramping up economic pressure on Iran.
After the latest strikes, oil prices surged about 3%. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 2.9% at $90.61 (£66.88) per barrel early on Monday while US benchmark crude oil jumped 2.7% to $85.66 (£63.24) per barrel.
