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President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iranian forces fired on three U.S. Navy destroyers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions as the two nations continue to weigh a possible agreement to halt hostilities.
The United States and Iran exchanged missile strikes overnight, with U.S. forces targeting an Iranian island and a city, according to the president. Reports indicate that the two sides are considering a short-term proposal to pause fighting for 30 days.
The president said the American vessels were not damaged in the encounter, while Iranian forces suffered significant losses.
“These boats went to the bottom of the sea, quickly and efficiently,” President Trump wrote on social media. “Missiles were shot at our destroyers, and were easily knocked down. Likewise, drones came, and were incinerated while in the air. They dropped ever so beautifully down to the ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!”
He added that Iran’s actions reflected broader concerns about its leadership.
“A normal country would have allowed these destroyers to pass, but Iran is not a normal country,” Trump said. “They are led by lunatics, and if they had the chance to use a nuclear weapon, they would do it, without question. But they’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!”
The president said the three destroyers would return to join a U.S. naval blockade in the region, which he described as a “Wall of Steel.”
The developments come days after Trump paused “Project Freedom,” a U.S. military operation aimed at escorting commercial ships through the strait, as diplomatic efforts to reach a broader agreement continue.
