Trump: "Hit Them Hard"; U.S. Strikes Iran for the Ninth Straight Night

The U.S. military completed its ninth consecutive wave of strikes overnight (Monday) against military targets inside Iran. President Donald Trump delivered a forceful message to Tehran, while the Revolutionary Guards announced that two oil tankers had been hit in the Strait of Hormuz and intensified their threats against the strategic shipping route.

U.S. Central Command said in the early morning hours that the latest round of strikes targeted, among other sites, military command centers and air defense facilities in Iran. Shortly afterward, reports also emerged of an American strike in the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran, a strategic target where a space base and a central missile array of the Islamic Republic are located.

(קרדיט: shutterstock)

Even before the military statement was released, Trump addressed the operation during the night and linked it to the deaths of the American soldiers over the past 24 hours: "We feel very badly, but you know, these great people, these great patriots are out there fighting so that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon."

Later, the president added that Iran's military capabilities had been significantly damaged: "Iran was hit very hard, they lost almost everything militarily. They have very little left. They have some missiles, they have some drones, and they have some production capability, not much. We control the strait,, they control nothing, so we'll see what happens - but hit them very hard again tonight, and we did it in honor of what are apparently three great patriots."

About an hour after Trump's remarks, the Revolutionary Guards released a statement saying that two oil tankers were blown up after attempting to pass through the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz. In their statement, they warned that "Two oil tankers were blown up after attempting to pass through the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz. The strait will not be safe for the passage of petrochemical products or of 'a single drop of oil and gas,' as long as the actions of the United States in the region continue."

Alongside the exchanges of blows and threats, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the country is still interested in a non-military solution, stating that "We are still open to a diplomatic solution in Iran."

This morning, the Revolutionary Guards issued another statement, claiming that the attack on the Al-Azraq base in Jordan was made possible through local cooperation. According to them, "We thank the residents of Jordan and the soldiers of the Jordanian army for the cooperation and the precise information you provided, which made it possible to strike accurately and destroy 20 buildings where U.S. Army soldiers were stationed in the area of Al-Azraq base."