United States President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to "hit hard" Iran after a resumption of hostilities between the two countries. Washington carried out bombings against Iranian rocket launchers on the island of Larak in the Strait of Hormuz. Then Tehran retaliated by targeting American targets in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

Published on: 08/31/2026 - 04:55 Modified on: 08/31/2026 - 22:42

After a month of calm and the emphasis placed by Washington on "economic war", clashes have resumed between Iran and the United States, with Donald Trump threatening, Monday August 31, to "hit hard" the opposing camp.

For the first time since the end of July, American forces announced bombings against "two Iranian [rocket] launchers on the island of Larak", located in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran responded by attacking American targets in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates using missiles and drones, while affirming through its President Massoud Pezeshkian that it did not want the war to continue.

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While the conflict has entered its seventh month and negotiations are at a standstill, this resurgence of hostilities has sowed concern on the markets: oil prices have started to rise again, with the barrel of Brent, an international benchmark, exceeding the symbolic threshold of 90 dollars.

“There will be a response” and “we are going to hit them hard,” warned the American president, according to comments transcribed by the Fox News channel.

A little earlier, his Iranian counterpart had estimated that the continuation of the war was "neither in the interest [of Tehran] nor in that of the region", saying he would continue to "work to reach an agreement".

Traveling to Kyrgyzstan to participate in a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, he met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country plays the role of mediator. Also present at this meeting are Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Dangerous climbing”

According to the US Middle East Command (Centcom), the attack on Larak was launched after the Revolutionary Guards, Iran's powerful armed force, were "observed preparing to launch rockets loaded with sea mines" in Hormuz.

Iranian media reported three dead and seven injured in the strikes.

Targeted by Iranian retaliation, Jordan said it had shot down eight missiles that had penetrated its airspace. The Emirates detected a drone above its territorial waters, denouncing “a dangerous escalation”.

But Iran's armed forces have warned their regional neighbors of a "much stronger response" if any new "aggression" from Washington is launched from their territory.

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The Guardians also claimed to have shot down two American drones over the Strait of Hormuz.

The spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the “very regrettable” resumption of clashes between the two countries, calling for “maximum restraint” and the resumption of dialogue.

Recent weeks have been marked by a lull in the region, even if sporadic shootings have been recorded, especially in the Strait of Hormuz sector.

This maritime passage through which a fifth of the world's hydrocarbons previously transited is at the heart of the conflict, with Tehran blocking its passage almost continuously since the start of the war, triggered by an Israeli-American attack against Iran on February 28.

“Protect traffic”

In response, the United States imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and said it was ready "to protect the free flow of trade", with Centcom claiming to have "completed the clearance of international shipping lanes".

But on Monday, the Revolutionary Guards' navy claimed that a "rogue supertanker" had hit two naval mines during an "illegal" attempt to cross the strait, which Centcom denied, denouncing it as "disinformation".

Negotiations to end the conflict are at an impasse, while a memorandum of understanding concluded in mid-June was shattered the following month.

For the head of Iranian diplomacy Abbas Araghchi, “the solution is clear and simple: the United States must respect its commitments and stick” to what was signed. “Everything will then be back to normal.”

Faced with this unpopular conflict and the approach of the mid-term elections, the Trump administration is banking on "economic war" against Iran, already under international sanctions.

“Iran is officially a bankrupt nation. IT IS DEAD!”, the American president said on Monday on his Truth Social network.

A new set of so-called “secondary” American sanctions was presented last week, affecting not Iran directly but its trading partners.

“We will continue to put pressure” on Tehran, insisted Monday the Minister of Finance, Scott Bessent, during a series of meetings in the United States with his counterparts from the G20 countries.

With AFP

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