20 times harder, but short war? Donald Trump’s mixed messaging on Iran war sparks confusion

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iran of a devastating military response if it attempts to disrupt global oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, saying the United States would strike the country “twenty times harder” than it has so far.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said any move by Tehran to block the strategic waterway would trigger massive retaliation.

“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” Trump said.

He said that the United States could target sites that would make it “virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again,” warning that “death, fire, and fury will reign upon them.”

Trump, however, expressed hope that such an escalation would not occur, calling the continued flow of oil through the strait a “gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait.”

Earlier on Monday, Trump gave conflicting answers on how long the war will last.

The US President suggested the ongoing war against Iran could be short-lived but left open the possibility of escalation if Tehran disrupts global energy supplies.

“We took a little excursion to the Middle East to get rid of some evil. And I think you will see it is going to be a short-term excursion,” he told Republican lawmakers at his golf club near Miami.

Global oil markets have been volatile amid the conflict, with prices briefly rising to their highest level since 2022 after Iran selected Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader following the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Responding to Trump’s remarks, Ali Mohammad Naini, spokesperson for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said Tehran, not Washington, would decide when the war ends.

“Iran will determine when the war ends,” he said, according to Iranian state media.

The conflict has already disrupted oil and gas supplies to global markets and triggered a surge in fuel prices, while attacks have struck military bases, government buildings and energy infrastructure across the region.

Trump also held a call on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict and other issues.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the Russian leader proposed ideas for a “quick political and diplomatic settlement” after consultations with Gulf leaders and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Mojtaba Khamenei, a 56-year-old cleric with close ties to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, was recently named the Islamic Republic’s new supreme leader, becoming only the third person to hold the position since the 1979 revolution.

Trump said he was “disappointed” with the choice, adding that he would have preferred a leader drawn from what he described as an “internal” group of candidates.