President Donald Trump anticipated an escalation against Iran after saying the country "has taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them" and will now "have to pay the price."
Trump made the claim in a social media post in which he also said Tehran's military is a "complete and total mess."
"Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn't even exist anymore - They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!!" he added.
The threat follows renewed escalation between the countries that began after the downing of a U.S. helicopter. Trump said on Tuesday that "the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," and the U.S. Central Command later launched three rounds of strikes against Iranian air defense and radar systems near the Strait of Hormuz.
"The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters," CENTCOM said after.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had responded to Trump, saying that "foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk" and the country prefers diplomacy but "speaks other languages too."
"Leave our region if you want to be safe. History of the Persian Gulf has many chapters on dire fates of intruding outsiders," he added.
Iran retaliated by targeting bases in Jordan and Kuwait. A spokesperson for Bahrain's king said the country repelled Iranian attacks. A U.S. official told Axios that Tehran fired at least four ballistic missiles and several drones.
Iran also saw an escalation with Israel, which threatened to renew large-scale hostilities over the past days. The countries traded strikes after Tehran launched missiles to Israel for the first time in about two months over strikes against a Beirut suburb considered a Hezbollah stronghold.
Both countries said on Monday they were ceasing operations but warned they were ready to strike again if targeted.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that "after Iran attacked Israel" he "directed the IDF to strike military and economic targets throughout Iran."
He went on to note that, at the moment, "the fire on this front has been halted, because after the terrorist regime in Tehran was struck, it stopped attacking us," but warned that "if that terrorist regime makes the mistake of attacking us again, we will respond with force."
