Trump hints at new Iran strikes, says US knocked the "hell out" of Tehran

US President Donald Trump has signalled that Washington could launch further strikes on Iran, telling reporters at the White House that the US has knocked the “hell out” of the country. “This should have been done a long time ago by other presidents. The Iran war — and we’ve knocked the hell out of them, and we may do it a little bit further,” Trump said before departing for a campaign rally in Iowa (Al Jazeera liveblog). The remarks were independently corroborated by CNN, TRT World and A News, which also note Trump said Washington is not negotiating with Tehran and that “something one way or the other” will happen “fairly soon”.

The comments land as US Central Command marks 100 days of what it calls “America’s steel wall naval blockade against Iran”, declaring the operation has halted all seaborne trade with the country. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump has endorsed him as the leader best placed to “finish the job” in the war against Iran, and an Iranian lawmaker called on the authorities to allow the use of nuclear weapons if the US launches further attacks.

Elsewhere in the region, Yemeni forces said they carried out 780 targeted operations against Houthi fighters in 24 hours as part of the “Dawn of Yemen” offensive, according to military media, while Israeli strikes and gunfire across Gaza killed at least four Palestinians, local health officials said.