U.S. launches fresh Iran strikes as Trump threatens to "complete the job"

U.S. launches fresh Iran strikes as Trump threatens to "complete the job"

The U.S. military conducted fresh strikes on Iranian targets in retaliation for an attack Saturday morning on a commercial tanker, as President Trump threatened the possibility of restarting the war.

Why it matters: The second wave of U.S. strikes in Iran over the last 24 hours comes amid increasing tensions in the strait —and could put the shaky U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding at risk.

The latest: Iran responded to the U.S. strikes with drone and missile attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, according to the Kuwaiti army and Bahrain's interior ministry.

  • Local media quoted the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps threatening more forceful attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and raising the prospect of the peace process coming to a halt.

    • Driving the news: Earlier Saturday the IRGC launched an attack drone at the M/T Kiku tanker, which was passing in the Strait of Hormuz with more than two million barrels of crude oil, CENTCOM said.

  • The incident happened several hours after the U.S. conducted strikes on Iranian targets in retaliation for another attack on a commercial ship on Thursday.
  • The Iranians retaliated to the first wave of U.S. strikes by attacking targets in Bahrain early Saturday, in addition to the tanker strike.

    • State of play: CENTCOM said in a statement that U.S. aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.

    What they're saying: Trump, in a Truth Social post Saturday night, confirmed the strikes and threatened more.

  • "There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started," he wrote.
  • "If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!"

    • Flashback: It was just 10 days ago that the U.S. and Iran signed the deal to end the war and start diplomatic talks.

  • The next day, Trump told "The Axios Show" that the deal represented an "unconditional surrender" by the Iranians.
  • Tensions have steadily ramped since then, though.

    • This is a developing story.