US president threatens new strikes on Iran
Norway US president Donald Trump said American forces will strike Iran “very hard” Thursday night, marking the third consecutive night of attacks.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that the US would attack Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” if its military defenses and offensive capabilities were already degraded.
Early Thursday, the US bombed Iranian targets for the second night in a row. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz and launching drones at US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Trump also claimed the US would soon seize Kharg Island and take full control of Iran’s oil and gas market, as it has done with Venezuela.
CNN and Reuters reported earlier Thursday that US-Iran talks were ongoing, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.
Hilmar Mjelde, a political science professor at Høgskulen på Vestlandet, said there were signs of real progress in the negotiations. “The parties appear closer to an agreement than at any previous point,” he said.
Jo Jakobsen, a political science professor at NTNU, was more skeptical. “There is no reason to believe we will see an agreement in the near future. We will likely see more of what we have seen in recent days,” he said.