Donald Trump threatened to “bomb the s---” out of Iran again within hours unless its leaders agree to a deal.
The 79-year-old president issued the warning on Wednesday night after overseeing a fresh wave of military strikes against Iranian targets from the Situation Room, according to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst.
“The president said, ‘We hit them very hard tonight,’” Yingst told viewers, adding that Trump described the strikes as “vicious” and “violent.”
Trump said the U.S. fired 49 Tomahawk missiles and launched fighter jet strikes against Iranian targets near Tehran and along the Persian Gulf coast.
The president claimed that the bombing campaign would pause shortly but warned it would quickly resume if Iran failed to reach an agreement with Washington.
“If they don’t sign an agreement,” Yingst quoted Trump as saying, “we’ll bomb the S out of them tomorrow.”
The threat marked a dramatic escalation in the conflict between Washington and Tehran, which has intensified in recent days despite ongoing claims that negotiations remain possible.
“The Iranians called him and asked him to stop bombing,” Yingst said, adding that the president had spoken with “top officials” in Tehran while the strikes were underway. Iranian officials denied the president’s claim.
Trump has repeatedly argued that military pressure is necessary to secure an agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested additional military action was imminent after meeting with U.S. Central Command leaders at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
“President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard, and we will be,” Hegseth told reporters.
“Iran has a chance to make a good deal, a great deal, to codify what they said they’ve been willing to do.”
The latest strikes began just after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Washington time.
U.S. Central Command later announced that American forces had completed the operation.
Iran claimed it responded with attacks targeting U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and had closed the Strait of Hormuz to all vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships.
U.S. Central Command denied the claim, saying the strategic waterway remained open.
Iran’s military quickly responded with threats of retaliation.
Gen. Majid Mousavi, commander of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace forces, accused Washington of destabilizing the region and warned of a broader response.
“You are making the holy Strait of Hormuz unsafe?!” Mousavi said in a statement published by Tasnim news agency.
“We will make the region hell for you from all over Iran. This is the response to America’s aggression in the region.”
The latest exchange comes two months after Trump declared a ceasefire between the United States and Iran. Since then, both sides have traded sporadic attacks while accusing each other of violating the agreement.
Trump appeared to acknowledge as much during his conversation with Yingst, describing the truce as “the most violated ceasefire in the history of the world.”
Yet even as American missiles struck Iranian targets and Tehran threatened retaliation, the president maintained that a deal remained within reach.
While speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump, who turns 80 on June 14, was asked to name his birthday wish.
“Peace for the world,” he said. “OK? Peace for the world.”
The Daily Beast reached out to the White House and Department of Defense for comment.
