Trump Says Iran’s Military Would ‘Disappear From the Face of the Earth’ as Mideast Tensions Escalate Again

President Donald Trump renewed his stark warning to Iran, signaling a renewed rise in Middle East tensions as armed clashes resurfaced over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

In a May 4 interview with Fox News, Trump referred to “Project Freedom,” an operation to help commercial ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz get out. “If they try to target American vessels, Iran’s military will disappear from the face of the Earth,” he said.

Trump had already stepped up pressure on Iran ahead of the expiration of a negotiating deadline he set on April 7. In a post on his Truth Social account, he wrote that “an entire civilization will disappear tonight and it can never be reversed.” In a national address on April 1, he disclosed plans for airstrikes on Iran and said the country would be “sent back to the Stone Age.” After those remarks, the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

But fighting broke out again on May 4, the first day the US carried out Project Freedom to guide stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz, putting the truce at risk of collapse. Foreign media reports said the clash erupted as the US moved commercial ships through the waterway and Iran tried to block them.

The US said earlier that day it would begin Project Freedom to support ships trapped in the strait and then immediately put the operation into motion. Iran had opposed any US military involvement. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had earlier said it was tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz and released a new map showing an expanded control zone that effectively blocked the entire shipping lane. Its position was that it would use military force to stop any foreign military, especially US forces, from entering or approaching the area.

The standoff ultimately led to a direct clash. US Central Command, which oversees the war involving Iran, said it used Apache helicopters to sink Iranian speedboats that had threatened commercial vessels. That has dimmed hopes for an end to the war and fueled concern that the conflict is entering a dangerous new phase with a risk of broader escalation.

Trump’s comments were seen as reflecting that situation. His language has drawn criticism as extreme, but he has not softened his stance. In the interview, he called the US Navy’s operation to blockade Iranian ports “one of the greatest military operations ever conducted” and argued that it had made negotiations far more flexible.

He added that there were two possible paths in the war with Iran: reaching an agreement through good-faith negotiations, or resuming military operations.

Kim So-yeon, Hankyung.com reporter sue123@hankyung.com