Donald Trump orders new attack on Iran after pledging to 'hit them hard'

Donald Trump has ordered fresh United States military attacks on Iran, the Pentagon confirmed, just hours after the President vowed at a NATO summit to "hit them hard".

On 7 July, the US Central Command confirmed it had struck Iranian targets following alleged attacks by Tehran on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. According to CENTCOM, over 80 targets were hit in total as part of the operation to "further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz".

"At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran," a statement from Central Command read. The United States is holding Iran accountable for "recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway".

Speaking at the NATO summit in Turkey on 7 and 8 July, Trump issued a stark ultimatum to Iran, declaring "we're either going to have a deal or we're going to have a war". He stated: "If we make a deal with Iran I'm not sure that will stick because I found them to be very dishonourable. We hit them very hard last night very very hard." Trump added that the US would "probably hit them hard again tonight".

The President's comments regarding the fragile ceasefire triggered a fresh surge in oil prices, with Brent crude climbing approximately 6.5% to 79 a barrel on Wednesday morning following Trump's announcement that the ceasefire had collapsed.

His remarks came after months of sporadic conflict between Washington and Tehran. A two-week ceasefire had been brokered in April and subsequently extended indefinitely. According to UN International Maritime Organisation figures, three civilian vessels were struck in the strait on Tuesday. Iran, however, did not claim responsibility for the attacks.