Trump warns of largest strikes on Iran yet as Tehran lashes out across Gulf

The US president’s threat comes after another day of Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.United States President Donald Trump says he may launch the largest strikes on Iran yet after Tehran carried out another wave of retaliatory attacks on US allies in the Gulf, including hitting a telecommunications tower in Kuwait.In remarks to US news website Axios on Thursday, Trump said he was “considering a massive attack” that would be “bigger than ever before”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Rubio says Iran ‘begging’ for a deal with US but not ready to make onelist 2 of 4How shipping insurance rates are rising, as Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb shut downlist 3 of 4Oil surges past $100 in a first since May as Middle East conflicts ragelist 4 of 4What are the security implications of the US-Saudi nuclear deal?end of list“I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump said.The threat raises the stakes yet again in a weeks-long military confrontation in which the US has attacked Iran for 12 straight nights, including hitting bridges and tunnels, according to Iranian media reports.Iran’s retaliatory attacks have rippled throughout much of the Gulf, sparking fears of a worsening energy crisis.The spiralling conflict has all but destroyed an interim peace deal signed by the US and Iran last month.‘Eye for an eye’Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that Tehran would retaliate “an eye for an eye” against any future attacks, including those on Iran’s infrastructure.After another night of US attacks on Wednesday, Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait on Thursday.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attacks in Jordan and Kuwait targeted and hit US military assets.The IRGC also acknowledged attacking a telecommunications tower in Kuwait, saying it was in retaliation for US attacks on telecommunications towers in Iran.In a statement addressing the Kuwaiti people directly, the IRGC insisted that the US, not Iran, had breached the Gulf state’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty”.