Washington/Dubai – US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he is considering ordering the largest US attack on Iran yet, adding that Israel would join the strikes upon his request.
“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” he told the Axios outlet, which reported that the strikes, if carried out, would be bigger than Operation Epic Fury, the US operation that launched the war alongside Israel in late February.
Trump regularly makes bombastic threats against Iran without carrying them out. He has repeatedly threatened major strikes only to announce a diplomatic breakthrough shortly afterward. He made the threat hours after warning Iran that it would be held responsible if the Houthis in Yemen continue to target Saudi shipping, after the Iran-backed terror group fired on two Saudi tankers overnight
Israel has not been involved in the latest round of fighting, or in the talks between the US and Iran. But Trump told Axios that Israel would join the new wave of strikes if he wanted it to.
Israel “would join in two minutes if I asked them to,” Trump said, adding that “we don’t need anybody.” He also said there would be “consequences” if Israel joined in, likely referring to Iranian attacks on Israel.
Trump said that the Iranians need to be struck more before they’ll be ready to make a deal. “They haven’t received enough pain yet,” he said.
Also, US President Trump warned Iran that it would be held responsible if the Houthis in Yemen continue to target Saudi shipping, after the terror group fired on two Saudi tankers overnight.
The threat from Trump is the latest indication that a new front was opening up in the Middle East war, while fears also grew in Israel of renewed Iranian attacks. On Monday, the Houthis, an Iranian proxy group that controls western Yemen, announced that they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
A blockade on Saudi ports would further choke off the flow of oil in the Middle East, given that Iran is also obstructing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, another key energy artery.
In his warning, Trump referenced the US’s bombing campaign against the Houthis last year, which aimed to stop their attacks on Red Sea shipping.
“A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships,” wrote Trump on Truth Social. “Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly.”“Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night,” he continued. “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the US will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also blamed the Houthi attacks on Iran, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called on the Houthis to immediately stop activities that endanger shipping.“Navigation must be unimpeded, in the Strait of Hormuz as well as in the Red Sea,” she said.
Rubio: Iran ‘paying the price’ for breaking deal
Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting have continued, but Iran and the US traded blame as to who is at fault for the breakdown in talks. Rubio said Washington has kept its end of a deal with Iran, but that Tehran keeps reneging on agreements.
“These people make deals and then they break it almost immediately, or they decide, ‘Oh, let’s change the deal.’ That’s not how deals work,” he said on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Manila.
“So now they’re paying the price for it. And maybe they’ll change their mind here over the next few days as they continue to suffer great losses,” he added.
Rubio also said the Houthis were “suckered” into attacking Red Sea shipping by Iran.
“The Houthis largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict, but they now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships,” Rubio said. “I hope they will de-escalate, because I think the Houthis, frankly, got snookered into this thing by the Iranians.”
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks with the US could not progress due to Washington’s “domineering” stance in negotiations.
“The problem is the American approach, which is irrational, excessive, and domineering,” he told state media on the sidelines of talks between Iranian President Mahmoud Pezeshkian and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.
“Until they understand that there is no alternative to respecting Iran’s people and their interests, there will not be the conditions for progress,” he added.
He indicated there was no point in negotiating or exchanging messages until then. “They simply need to reconsider their policies,” Araghchi said.
A vessel operated by a Saudi company was targeted while sailing in the Red Sea, causing a fire to break out at the front of the ship, the Transport General Authority said.
An official source at the authority said the ENCELIA was struck while navigating the Red Sea, confirming that all crew members were safe.
The relevant authorities have taken all necessary measures to secure the vessel and its crew, as well as protect the marine environment.
The authority said such attacks are a violation of international laws that guarantee the safety of commercial vessels and their crews.
Iran attacks Jordan, Kuwait
The Jordanian military said four Iranian ballistic missiles and six drones launched from Iran at the kingdom were intercepted on Thursday.
Iran has been carrying out near-daily attacks on Jordan in the past week.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said earlier that it targeted a radar for the US THAAD missile defense system, a Patriot system, a C-RAM radar and a helicopter hangar in Jordan, according to a statement aired by state TV.
And Kuwait’s army said the Abdali border crossing with Iraq was hit by a drone attack on Thursday, causing material damage but no casualties.
Located in Kuwait’s northern Al-Jahra Province, Abdali is the country’s main land border crossing with Iraq and a key route for passenger and commercial traffic between the two countries.
Iran said this morning it carried out drone attacks on bases in Kuwait hosting US military assets, saying it hit warehouses, fuel tankers and an ammunition depot at three bases in the Gulf country.
It said US strikes hit a border crossing between Iran and Iraq, killing two people.
