Trump Vows to 'Hit Iran Hard' as US Denies Tanker Claim
President Trump declared Iran “officially a Failed Nation” and vowed America would “hit them hard”, promising “more coming” after Tehran’s missile attack on bases in Jordan. Central Command denied Iran’s claim that a supertanker struck mines in the strait, calling it IRGC “disinformation” — walking back this morning’s most alarming report — while a US official confirmed Mr Trump’s posted video of Kharg Island “being blown to smithereens” was AI-generated and no such attack occurred.
Day two dissolved into a war of claims as much as ordnance: Iran’s burning tanker denied by CENTCOM, Iran’s UAE drone strike denied by the Emirates, and an American president circulating fabricated footage of an attack his own Pentagon had to disown — information warfare conducted by all parties, with markets and allies left to price the difference between what happened and what was posted. The kinetic ledger is thinner than the rhetoric: one strike, one intercepted salvo, two IRGC dead. But “more coming” from a president talking of prosecuting Iran’s leaders suggests the month-long lull is not returning, and every deniable claim makes miscalculation easier. Watch whether the promised American response materialises — and whether anyone independent reaches that tanker.