The White House warned Iran on Friday afternoon of continuing strikes amid reports that President Donald Trump had ordered a fresh round of attacks against the country.
Trump had paused U.S. strikes earlier this week following a 13-day bombing campaign on the country, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in an emailed response to The Epoch Times’ request for confirmation, did not deny that a renewed attack could be imminent and last a few days, aimed at forcing Tehran to surrender.
“The United States signed an MOU with Iran and they broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers,” Leavitt said in her statement. “President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur. Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way.”
Friday’s statement from the White House follows Iranian officials making multiple claims that have been denied by the United States.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had shot down three F-35 jets, which are stealth planes considered to be among the most advanced military aircraft in the world, and three other American aircraft during its attack on the U.S. Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan.
Through state-run Tasnim News, the IRGC had also claimed it killed American troops.
“No U.S. aircraft were destroyed or damaged in recent attempted Iranian attacks,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote in a post on X. “All missiles and drones were intercepted or failed to reach targeted areas.”
CENTCOM said Thursday that U.S. forces hit dozens of IRGC targets, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, and coastal surveillance and defense sites.
It also denied that an oil tanker had broken through the U.S. blockade of Iran, laying blame on the country as the reason for the Strait of Hormuz being too dangerous to cross.
“The immediate dangers posed to commercial vessels and their civilian crews are the IRGC’s verbal threats and attempted attacks,” CENTCOM added in its X post.
As attacks between Iran and the United States resumed Thursday, neighboring Gulf nations are also being threatened and increasingly drawn into the conflict.
Jordan has reported two consecutive days of intercepting Iranian missiles. Kuwait said an Iranian strike on its territory killed one person. Drones from Iran caused fires on ships at Egyptian ports. Saudi Arabia reported it was under attack from Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi addressed the attack on ships in Egypt, saying the country is a “friend and important partner” in the Middle East, but did not outright deny Iranian involvement.
“We must all remain vigilant toward Israeli schemes and ‘false flag’ operations that aim to undermine regional peace,” he said in a post on X.
In addition to U.S. airstrikes on Iran continuing Thursday, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six entities and individuals in China, India, Russia, and Iran over their support of the sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air and the IRGC.
The Treasury accused Mahan Air, which is portrayed as a civilian airline, of long assisting the Iranian regime by providing air travel to IRGC-Qods Force personnel, facilitating military training, and helping Iran obtain and transport military weapons.
“Those who provide financial services, logistics, or commercial support to the IRGC or Mahan Air are helping sustain a terrorist enterprise,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Treasury will continue to identify them, expose them, and cut them off from the U.S. financial system.”
