President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States of America will hit Iran “very hard tonight” as the two countries continue airstrikes and missile attacks in the Middle East.

“The United States will be hitting Iran (whose navy, air force, radar, anti-aircraft, and all other forms of defence, together with most of its offensive capability, are gone!) very hard tonight,” Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Mr Trump also threatened that the U.S. would soon seize control of Kharg Island and Iran’s oil infrastructure.

He compared the idea of taking control of Iran’s oil sector to U.S. actions in Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

“At some point in the not-too-distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their oil and gas markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America,” he stated.

Mr Trump’s latest threats come as both countries continue to trade attacks following the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week.

In response to the shootdown of the helicopter, Mr Trump said the U.S. “must, of necessity, respond to this attack.” 

The development led to a series of strikes on Iranian military infrastructure, which U.S. officials described as “self-defence.”

The Iranian state media reported explosions in several port cities along the southern coast, while Tehran targeted U.S. military assets in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan.

Iran announced the full closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.

Mr Trump on Wednesday accused Iran’s leadership of violating the April 8 ceasefire, calling it “the most violated ceasefire in the history of the world,” while Tehran also said the ceasefire had been rendered “practically meaningless.”

Both countries agreed to a ceasefire to allow negotiations to end the war, but no agreement has been reached.