Trump says will hit Iran “20 times harder” if oil flow stopped through Hormuz

• Trump vowed to strike Iran "TWENTY TIMES HARDER" and target "easily destroyable" infrastructure to prevent the nation from ever being rebuilt if the new leadership under Mojtaba Khamenei continues to block the Strait of Hormuz.
• Following Trump's characterization of the conflict as a "short-term excursion," global markets stabilized and oil prices dropped 5% (falling back from a peak of $100 per barrel) despite his threats of "Death, Fire, and Fury" if Iran does not comply.

US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to hit Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if it stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz.

“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them.”

Trump called this a gift from the United States to China, and all countries that rely on the Hormuz Strait for their oil imports.

The war had sent stock markets slumping and oil prices soaring on Monday as Tehran, under new leader Mojtaba Khamenei, fired a fresh barrage of missiles at its Gulf neighbours and signaled that the strategic Strait of Hormuz would likely remain closed.

But Wall Street climbed into positive territory on Trump's signals of a short war, with Tokyo and Seoul also opening strongly Tuesday, despite the president's continued threats to expand the campaign if Iran did not fall in line.

Oil prices also reversed course, falling as much as five percent a day after benchmark crude rocketed past $100 a barrel -- its highest level since Russia's war with Ukraine in 2022.

"It's going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they'll be hit even harder," Trump told a news conference in Florida, after telling lawmakers that the campaign would be a "short-term excursion."