US President Donald Trump has described Iran as a “failed nation" and said its leadership should face accountability over its handling of protesters, as the United States and Iran exchanged fire for the first time in a month.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared that “Iran is officially a Failed Nation" and added in capital letters, “IT IS DEAD!"
He claimed Iran had no navy, no air force and no currency, and alleged that the country was not paying its soldiers or police.
Trump also claimed that inflation in Iran had reached 300% and said the country’s leadership was in “total disarray" and was incapable of properly representing the country.
He further accused Iran’s leadership of being willing to kill protesters, claiming that more than 100,000 people had died.
Trump said those responsible “must be tried for war crimes against humanity".
In his post, he also criticised what he described as “FAKE NEWS from the USA" and ended by accusing Iran of having “a good line of ‘BULLSHIT’".
The post was directed at the situation in Iran as tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated again.
Trump also told Fox News that the United States would respond to an overnight attack on US forces. “We’re going to hit them hard," he said.
The warning came after US and Iranian forces exchanged fire for the first time in a month. US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers, while Iran responded by launching missiles towards Jordan on Monday.
The latest confrontation marks a fresh escalation between the two countries after a period without direct exchanges of fire.
According to the US Central Command, American forces struck Iranian launchers on Sunday that were attempting to deploy mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
The launchers were targeted as tensions remained high around the strategic waterway.
A person familiar with the attack said all of the Iranian missiles were intercepted.
The exchange of fire followed the US military action against the Iranian launchers and Iran’s retaliatory missile launches aimed at Jordan.
Trump’s warning suggests the United States is preparing for further military action following the overnight attack on its forces.
