US President Donald Trump says Washington can track Iran’s military moves closely and is ready to launch further strikes as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz escalate.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that American intelligence is monitoring Iran's activities so closely that Tehran cannot make a move without Washington knowing about it. He also warned that the United States is prepared to strike Iran again “anytime” if the country retaliates.

Trump made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the Oval Office amid renewed US-Iran military tensions. His comments followed a fresh American assault on Iranian military infrastructure and Iranian retaliatory attacks on US positions in the region.

Trump Claims Total Surveillance

Trump said US intelligence had detected Iran's attempts to rebuild radar and missile capabilities after earlier American strikes.

“We see everything they’re doing,” Trump said, adding that Iranian leaders “can't go to the bathroom without us seeing it.”

He claimed Washington had detected preparations for a rocket system that could potentially be used to deploy sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy corridors.

Trump said US forces had destroyed newly developed equipment, including systems he described as both defensive and offensive.

US Strikes Iran Again

The latest escalation followed a US strike on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on August 30. US forces targeted two Iranian rocket launchers after Washington said Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel were preparing to use rockets to deploy sea mines into the strategic waterway.

The strike represented the first known US military action against Iran in about a month, breaking a period of relative calm between the two sides.

US Central Command described the operation as a limited action intended to eliminate what it considered an imminent threat to commercial shipping and civilian mariners.

Iran Launches Retaliatory Attacks

Iran responded by launching missiles towards US military positions in Jordan. Jordanian authorities said eight missiles were intercepted.

Iranian forces also claimed to have targeted American military assets in the United Arab Emirates, although the UAE disputed claims that its airbase had been struck.

The exchange marked a significant deterioration in the situation after weeks in which Washington had increasingly relied on economic pressure and sanctions rather than direct military action.

Trump Threatens Tougher Response

Trump has repeatedly warned that Iran would face a much stronger American response if it attacks US forces again.

Speaking to Fox News, he warned that Iran could be “totally wiped out as a country” if Tehran continued retaliatory attacks. He said Washington had already given Iran multiple opportunities to reach an agreement but suggested he had little confidence in any deal with Tehran.

The president also described the latest American operation as a “very heavy attack” and said the United States could conduct another strike whenever it chose.

Strait Of Hormuz In Focus

The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the confrontation because it is a critical route for global energy shipments.

The US says preventing Iran from laying mines in the waterway is necessary to protect commercial shipping. Tehran, meanwhile, has condemned American military action as an infringement of Iranian sovereignty and has threatened further retaliation.

The latest confrontation has already affected shipping activity and contributed to volatility in global oil markets. Reuters reported Thursday that Brent crude was around $95 a barrel, while shipping through the strait remained below its recent average.

Sanctions Remain US Strategy

Alongside military pressure, the Trump administration has intensified economic measures against Iran.

Recent US policy has increasingly focused on sanctions and economic isolation, particularly as officials weigh the risks of a prolonged military confrontation. Reuters reported that some senior Trump aides have advocated a quieter military posture while increasing economic pressure.

However, the latest exchange of attacks has made a sustained de-escalation more difficult.

Risk Of Wider Conflict

The latest statements from Trump and the renewed attacks have increased concerns that the US-Iran conflict could enter another prolonged phase of direct confrontation.

The immediate flashpoint remains the Strait of Hormuz, where any attempt to deploy sea mines could threaten commercial shipping and global energy supplies. Further American strikes or Iranian attacks on US forces and regional allies could widen the conflict.

For now, Trump's message is clear: Washington believes it has extensive intelligence coverage of Iran and remains prepared to use military force if Tehran launches another attack.

The Middle East is in the most dangerous moment of this century. What began as a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28, 2026 has now spiralled into a widening regional conflict — and this weekend, Tehran crossed a new line.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps publicly vowed to pursue and kill Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Iran's state news agency posting a chilling statement on X — calling Netanyahu a "child-killer" and threatening his life directly. The statement came after rumours spread over the weekend that Netanyahu had already been killed, forcing his office to release a statement calling the reports entirely false.

This is the war nobody fully predicted — and it is not over.

How It Started: Operation Roaring Lion

On February 28, 2026, Israel and the United States jointly launched Operation Roaring Lion, with Netanyahu announcing that the aim was to put a permanent end to the threat from the Iranian regime. The IDF struck targets of the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij paramilitary force, alongside US military strikes on ballistic missile sites threatening both Israel and American forces across the region.

Netanyahu declared the goal was to remove the existential threat posed by the Iranian regime, stating that the joint action would create the conditions for the Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.

This was not a sudden decision. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz disclosed on March 4 that Israel had initially planned to strike Iran in mid-2026, but moved the timeline forward. Katz also revealed that Netanyahu had set an objective of targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as far back as November 2025.

Where Things Stand Right Now — March 16, 2026

The conflict has now entered its third week and shows no sign of slowing down.

Iran has continued firing missiles at Israel. Israel in return targeted key members of Iran's leadership, and the IDF confirmed it had eliminated two senior Iranian intelligence officials from the Khatam al-Anbiya Emergency Command.

Despite US and Israeli attacks against Iran's missile launchers and stockpiles, Iran has continued striking Israel with round-the-clock ballistic missile and drone attacks, also hitting Arab neighbours in the Gulf region, driving a sharp spike in global oil prices.

Netanyahu held his first press conference since the war began on March 12. He confirmed Israel had killed a senior Iranian nuclear scientist and said the campaign was going better than expected. When asked whether Israel would target Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Netanyahu said he would not rule anything out.

The Regime Change Question

The central strategic question of this war is what victory actually looks like.

Netanyahu's messaging has remained fixated on regime change in Iran since day one. Analysts note that for Netanyahu — seeking to recover politically from the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack — anything less than regime change could be seen as a failure by the Israeli public.

But analysts are increasingly sceptical. With no evidence of a popular Iranian uprising and the Trump administration appearing to back away from its own regime change demands, it remains unclear whether Israel has a clear endgame plan or what its fallback position might be.

A former Israeli national security adviser noted that if Israel and the US drop regime change as a stated goal, they will instead pursue objectives easier to define and measure — such as further degrading Iran's missile systems and nuclear programme.

The Nuclear Problem Is Not Solved Yet

The US-Israeli operations in February 2026 confirmed that earlier strikes had not succeeded in destroying the Iranian nuclear programme entirely. Iran still holds approximately 450 kilograms of highly enriched uranium stored in underground tunnels and refused, in pre-war talks with the United States, to export its stockpiles.

The thinking in Jerusalem was clear — waiting would only allow Iran to rebuild its nuclear and missile capabilities to a point of no return. The window to act was now or never.

Kharg Island and the Global Oil Risk

The war is no longer just a Middle Eastern conflict. It is a global economic threat.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz confirmed that President Trump is weighing strikes on oil infrastructure at Kharg Island, Iran's key oil export hub, saying Trump is not going to take any options off the table. Trump previously directed US Central Command to bomb Kharg Island's military infrastructure while leaving oil facilities intact — but that position could change quickly.

If that calculation shifts, global oil markets face a shock of historic proportions.

What Happens Next

Israel's army chief Eyal Zamir has said the war will likely continue for a long time. A March 2026 survey found that 82 percent of the Israeli public supports ongoing military operations, giving Netanyahu significant domestic political cover to continue.

But a former IDF strategic planning director has warned that neither the US nor Israel has set out a realistic exit strategy — and that without one, there is no exit.

The Iran-Israel war of 2026 is no longer a regional skirmish. It is a conflict with the potential to reshape the entire Middle East and the global economy alongside it. The IRGC's threat to kill Netanyahu this weekend is the latest reminder that this war has entered deeply personal and dangerously unpredictable territory.

The world is watching. And nobody knows how this ends.