Trump Calls Hormuz Strikes Exchange 'Love Tap', Iran's "Lion" Warning

The United States and Iran have exchanged fire, once again threatening their month-long ceasefire. Iran accused the US forces of starting agression by targeting two ships at the Strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas, while Washington insisted it fired in retaliation. 

US President Donald Trump said American military destroyed Iranian attackers targeting three US Navy destroyers as they transited through the Strait of Hormuz, warning that "we'll knock them out a lot harder and a lot more violently" if Iran doesn't sign a deal soon.

"Three world-class American destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

"They were completely destroyed along with numerous small boats, which are being used to take the place of their fully decapitated navy," Trump added.

ALSO READ: Trump Threatens More Iran Strikes If Deal Not Signed "Fast"

Iran's Stand

Iran, meanwhile, said the US targeted "an Iranian oil tanker travelling from Iran's coastal waters near Jask toward Hormuz, as well as another vessel entering the strait near the Emirati port of Fujairah".

"At the same time, with the cooperation of some regional countries, they carried out air attacks on civilian areas along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik, and Qeshm Island," a spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement carried by state media.

Amid the diplomatic tensions, Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issued a veiled threat, comparing Iran to an angry lion.

"If you see the lion's fangs protruding, do not imagine that the lion is smiling," he wrote in a post on X. 

He also called Iran a superpower. During a press conference, when a reporter asked him why Iran isn't backing down given that the US is a superpower, Baqaei said, "Even Iran is a superpower."

Baqaei also called on every Gulf nation to come together and realise that the US military presence in the region is a liability rather than a security measure.

"The countries in the region must come together to build confidence among one another and build a mechanism that will address the needs of all the nations and guarantee their collective security," he said.

ALSO READ: US Military Strikes Iran's Qeshm Port, Bandar Abbas: Report

Where The Ceasefire Stands

The skirmishes raised concerns over the viability of a shaky ceasefire that had largely held for the previous month. But Donald Trump insisted it remained intact despite new violations, which he described in an interview with ABC News as a "love tap".

"It's just a love tap...the ceasefire is going. It's in effect." Trump told ABC News' Rachel Scott when asked about the strike.

ALSO READ: 1,500 Ships Trapped In Gulf Due To Iran's Hormuz Blockade: UN Maritime Body

Trump's Threat

He later reiterated his threat for Iran to agree to make a deal to restart negotiations to end the war or face attacks again.

"[T]hey'll never have that opportunity, and, just like we knocked them out again today, we'll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don't get their Deal signed, FAST," Trump said on his social media platform.

He stressed that "there's zero chance" Washington will allow Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.  He claimed that Iran has "agreed to that", adding, "Let's see if they are willing to sign it".

"The talks are going very well, but they have to understand that if it doesn't get signed, they're going to have a lot of pain", the president threatened while talking to the media. 

"I believe they want the deal more than I do," he said of Iran.

ALSO READ: US Imposes Sanctions On Iraq's Deputy Oil Minister Over Support To Iran

What's Happening In Middle East

Iran, meanwhile, appeared undaunted as it vowed to keep exerting control over Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil flowed before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

A US admiral said US forces sank six small Iranian ships. Iran denied that any had been sunk and earlier fired warning shots at US warships.

The UAE, a close US ally and key Arab partner of Israel, said it came under a barrage of missiles and drones from Iran. "These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression, posing a direct threat to the state's security, stability, and the safety of its territories," the UAE's foreign ministry said in a statement. 

The new attacks came after a strike targeting an energy installation in the emirate of Fujairah injured three Indian nationals earlier this week. Two people were also injured when a residential building was hit in Oman's Bukha along the coastline of the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported.