Donald Trump has threatened to blow Iran ‘off the face of the earth’ after the regime launched missile and drone attacks on US warships and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran launched four missiles at a US-backed Middle Eastern ally on Monday and blew up a major oil port, following Trump‘s move to reopen the strait.
The United Arab Emirates issued a missile alert on Monday morning, the first since the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran was announced last month.
The UAE’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted three missiles, while a fourth ‘fell into the sea.’ An official noted that the country’s air defenses ‘are currently dealing with missile attacks and incoming drones from Iran.’
Trump said the US had ‘shot down seven small boats’ during the latest skirmish but said only a South Korean ship had sustained damage.
‘Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission!,’ the President suggested on Truth Social.
Tehran’s decision to launch these attacks officially resumes hostilities between Iran and the US in the Middle East.
Authorities also announced that a massive fire broke out at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zones on Monday following a drone attack from Iran. Rescue teams were deployed to contain the inferno, Reuters reports.
A senior US official said that US warships and aircraft protected several commercial vessels from Iranian attacks earlier on Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Sources said an Iranian drone successfully struck an Marshall Islands-linked oil vessel named the JV Innovation while it was attempting to move through the strait.
US warships responded to the cruise missile fire by sinking six small Iranian boats, Central Command told reporters. The number of casualties from the Iranian attacks remains unclear.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.
The ongoing military aggression from Iran comes after Trump’s announcement that the US military would begin escorting stranded oil vessels through Hormuz, a critical waterway that handles one-fifth of the world’s oil transport.
Trump launched an effort on Monday to guide commercial tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, where hundreds have been stuck since the Iran war began on February 28.
Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by warning that any ship found violating the regime’s maritime rules will be stopped by force.
US Central Command later confirmed the Navy would help commercial ships transit the Strait of Hormuz under an operation dubbed ‘Project Freedom,’ advising them on how to avoid mines and protecting them from Iranian attacks.
The uncertainty over control of the strait comes as two US-flagged vessels have successfully passed through waterway, the US military said on Monday.
The closure of the strait has driven gas prices to some of their highest levels since 2022, averaging $4.40 a gallon, up 30 cents in a week.
‘Project Freedom’ will reportedly include a vast number of guided-missile destroyers, drones, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, and the infantry support of 15,000 troops, CENTCOM announced.