Trump warns of bigger response if Iran keeps targeting US forces and shipping

U.S. forces are carrying out a new round of strikes against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as fighting continues around the Strait of Hormuz, with President Donald Trump warning Tehran that an even larger response could follow continued attacks on American forces and commercial shipping.

The latest U.S. operations have targeted Iranian air defenses, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications infrastructure as American forces work to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international shipping.

Speaking with The National News Desk, former active-duty U.S. Army intelligence Capt. Jeremy Hunt said the military campaign demonstrates Trump’s willingness to follow through on two central objectives: preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and maintaining access through the critical energy corridor.

“I think what we are witnessing right now is President Trump backing up what he says, and that is that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and that the Strait of Hormuz will be open,” Hunt said.

Hunt said oil shipments through the waterway have recovered to roughly 75% of prewar levels as American forces work to counter Iranian efforts to disrupt maritime traffic.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and global markets. Disruptions there can have significant consequences for international oil supplies and prices.

Hunt also said Iranian claims about the extent of its mine operations in the strait had been overstated.

“We have demined the strait with a lot of these mine-laying operations and these mines that Iran claimed were just covering the Strait of Hormuz, which is actually very much overstated,” Hunt said.

The former Army intelligence officer argued military force has become necessary because previous attempts to negotiate with Tehran failed to change its behavior.

“President Trump is speaking to Iran in a language that they can understand, and that is the language of force,” Hunt said.

The U.S. strikes have focused in part on IRGC sites allegedly connected to attacks against American personnel and efforts to disrupt shipping.

“We’re using our American military, the greatest military in the world, to strike at these IRGC sites that have been attacking American troops,” Hunt said.

At the same time, the Trump administration is attempting to squeeze Iran economically.

The United States has intensified pressure on Tehran’s oil exports, overseas assets and other sources of revenue while maintaining a naval blockade affecting Iranian shipments through the region.

Asked how much ability Iran has left to continue fighting, Hunt offered a stark assessment.

“They are on their last leg,” he said.

Hunt argued that the combination of military and economic pressure is weakening both the IRGC and the broader Iranian government.

“We have to have an all-of-the-above approach,” Hunt said.

That includes targeting Iranian revenue as well as assets connected to senior officials, he said.

“We are targeting their assets all across the world,” Hunt said. “It’s not just the money they’re getting from oil, but also even their personal assets of many of the leaders of the IRGC and the leaders of this regime.”

Hunt also praised U.S. intelligence operations, arguing the military has been able to identify sensitive Iranian facilities that Tehran believed were protected from attack.

“We are striking critical sites, places where the IRGC thought we didn’t know about,” Hunt said.

“Our intel operations are top-notch,” he added. “Our American troops are fighting at a level that the world has never seen before.”

Hunt’s assessment that Iran is nearing the end of its ability to fight represents his analysis of the conflict rather than an independently established measure of the regime’s remaining military capabilities.

The confrontation is rooted in a much longer history between Washington and Tehran.

For decades, the United States has accused Iran of supporting armed groups throughout the Middle East, threatening American personnel and allies and pursuing nuclear capabilities that Washington has sought to prevent.

Iran has supported groups including Hezbollah and Hamas, although the organizations maintain their own leadership structures and objectives. The U.S. has designated both as terrorist organizations.

Hunt argued Iran’s use of proxy forces has allowed the government to confront the United States and its allies indirectly.

“Hamas and Hezbollah, these terrorist proxy groups, they are not just lone wolves out there,” Hunt said. “They are very much integrated into the IRGC as a part of Iran’s military.”

The degree of operational control Iran exercises over individual actions by its proxies can vary and has long been a subject of intelligence analysis and debate.

Trump has argued the current conflict should end decisively rather than become another prolonged American military commitment in the Middle East.

Hunt said victory would require convincing Tehran that attacks against U.S. forces will bring significant consequences and that Washington is prepared to sustain its campaign.

“He will not lay a finger on American troops without facing the full weight of the American military,” Hunt said of Trump’s approach.

Asked how quickly the conflict could reach a conclusion, Hunt said demonstrating American resolve could accelerate the timeline.

“Once we make it clear that we are in this thing to the end and we are not going to back off, once we make that clear to Iran as we are doing now, I think this thing can move much quicker than we had initially thought,” Hunt said.

He cautioned, however, that Iran has spent decades building its military and regional influence and is unlikely to capitulate immediately.

“Their reign of terror has gone on for decades, so they aren’t going to give up easily,” Hunt said.

The central question now is whether the combination of military strikes, economic pressure and restrictions on Iranian oil exports will force Tehran to change course — or lead to another escalation.

Hunt believes the answer could come sooner than expected.

“If they thought this was just a quick, one-and-done kind of campaign that we were going to do and that we would leave, they were sadly mistaken,” Hunt said.

“President Trump, he means business,” he added. “We’re going to see results very soon.”