U.S. President Donald Trump warned on July 13 (local time) that he would continue to strike Iran hard, stating, "We will hit them hard tonight and tomorrow as well."

As the U.S. military launched airstrikes for the third consecutive day, President Trump stated that Iran had failed the test of implementing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end hostilities. He announced a policy of pursuing both a maritime blockade and military strikes.

Appearing on the conservative radio program The Hugh Hewitt Show earlier that day, President Trump predicted further attacks on Iran, asserting, "There’s nothing they can do about it. They have nothing. All they can do is talk big."

When asked if he knew the whereabouts of the Iranian leadership and if he could eliminate them, President Trump replied, "Yes," but emphasized, "I don't want to talk about that. But we are certainly watching."

He continued, "We are attacking them as an example," and criticized them by calling them "crazy people."

As indicated by President Trump, the U.S. Central Command announced via X that, under the direction of the President as commander-in-chief, it had initiated nighttime airstrikes against Iran for the third day in a row, effective 4:45 p.m. that day (12:00 a.m. on July 14 in Iran).

Central Command stated, "These strikes will continue to impose a heavy cost on the Iranian military and degrade its ability to attack innocent civilians and merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz."

President Trump also provided an explanation regarding the situation that led to the resumption of hostilities while he was negotiating with Iran.

He said, "We had a deal yesterday, and it was 100% going to happen, but they (the negotiating team) suddenly received a phone call and everyone ran out of the room," adding, "To them, agreements exist to be broken. They are extremely untrustworthy people."

Later, meeting with reporters at the Oval Office, President Trump claimed, "We had a deal yesterday or the day before. Everything was finalized yesterday, but they found out there was something in the agreement that he (referring to the Supreme Leader of Iran) did not like, and they immediately broke the deal."

However, when asked if a deal with Iran was still possible, he replied, "I think a deal is possible. Absolutely."

Earlier on the radio show, President Trump referred to the MOU with Iran, which is now on the verge of being scrapped due to the resumption of hostilities, as something "created to test them."

This remark came during a conversation between President Trump and the host, where they compared the MOU to a high-rise building in Manhattan, New York, that was recently found to be at risk of collapse.

When President Trump pointed out, "The building is structurally weak. It was designed with a very light structure," the host asked, "Was the MOU designed that way too?" to which President Trump replied, "It was created to test them."

President Trump explained that because an MOU is signed as a preliminary step before reaching a "final contract" to end hostilities, it "doesn't mean much," adding, "I wanted to go straight to the final contract from the beginning."

He continued, "It (the MOU) was a kind of test," and criticized Iran, saying, "They did not respect that test," and "They never once kept it."

This is interpreted as his belief that the current situation, in which the U.S. has launched airstrikes on Iran and resumed a maritime blockade following Iran's attacks on merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, is due to Iran violating key provisions of the MOU.

Regarding the U.S. decision to resume the blockade, President Trump emphasized, "Anyone doing business with Iran cannot pass through there," adding, "The blockade will probably be more effective than attacking them directly, but I think a combination (of blockade and attack) is what is effective."

Furthermore, regarding the policy that the U.S. military would collect 20% of the cargo as a fee for guaranteed safe passage for commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, he stated that it was a matter of "cost reimbursement."

President Trump explained, "We are protecting a very wealthy region of the world, so we want to be reimbursed for the costs," adding, "We are spending money. So we will be paid for the protection (provided by the U.S.)."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)