President Trump declared Wednesday night that Iran is suddenly eager to get back to the negotiating table after U.S. forces unleashed a second straight day of punishing airstrikes across the Islamic Republic.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said Tehran had been left reeling by the latest barrage.
“We just hit them very hard,” Trump said. “We hit them 20:1. Every time they hit us we’re going to hit 20 [targets].”
.@POTUS: "We just hit them very hard, and I say we hit them 20-to-1 — every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20… When they hit, we hit back much harder." https://t.co/XIthjknwBH pic.twitter.com/8G2sHxZBNA
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 9, 2026
The president claimed Iranian officials had already reached out seeking talks.
“They have very little left and they want to make a deal so badly,” Trump said. “They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so bad.”
“I just don’t know if they’re worthy of making the deal. I don’t know if they’re going to honor the deal.”
.@POTUS on Iran: "They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so badly — I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know that they're going to honor the deal. That's the problem." pic.twitter.com/jQTENvyRGM
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 9, 2026
The remarks came after U.S. Central Command confirmed American forces struck approximately 90 military targets across Iran in what it described as an effort to further weaken Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM released black-and-white strike footage showing attacks on an airport runway and missile launchers, saying the operation targeted “air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline.”
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 9, 2026
Trump also shared videos on TRUTH Social that he said showed explosions inside Iran, warning the strikes were retaliation for Iran’s attack on commercial shipping.
“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran,” Trump wrote. “If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” CENTCOM said.
Iranian state media reported explosions across multiple locations, including Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas, Sirik, the Persian Gulf islands of Qeshm and Abu Musa, as well as the northern port city of Bushehr.
State media also reported strikes on railway bridges in northeastern Golestan province. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two bridges along the route to Mashhad were hit ahead of the planned burial of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday.
If confirmed, the bridge strikes would mark the first reported U.S. attacks on that type of infrastructure since before the April 8 cease-fire agreement.
Iran responded early Thursday by launching missiles and other projectiles toward Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters, as well as Kuwait and Qatar, opening another dangerous chapter in the rapidly escalating regional conflict.
The U.S. launched a second round of strikes against Iran in 24 hours, hitting about 90 targets after Iran attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz and launched strikes across the region.
Iran also fired missiles and drones toward neighboring countries, including Jordan, Kuwait,… pic.twitter.com/9zPivBN8ji
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 9, 2026
