Trump Threatens More Strikes on Iran as Death Toll Rises to 18

U.S. President Donald Trump on August 20 threatened additional attacks on Iran, warning Washington could strike "anytime we want," as the death toll from the latest U.S. airstrikes climbed to 18, with at least 108 people wounded.

Trump’s threat came a day after the United States and Iran exchanged their heaviest blows since July. U.S. forces targeted cities and areas along Iran’s southern coast, near the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, including a wedding party in the city of Kuhestak. Iran responded with attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Iraq, and Jordan.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on August 20, Trump said, "We hit them very hard last night," and the strikes "destroyed all of the brand new equipment that they were trying to build along the Strait of Hormuz." He emphasized: "It was a very heavy attack last night. And we’re ready to do another one. Anytime we want."

Iranian officials reported at least 18 deaths from the U.S. airstrikes. Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi said the victims included two children, among them a four-year-old boy killed in the attack on the wedding in Kuhestak, located in Sirik County. At least four people died in that strike.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the Kuhestak attack as a "war crime" and dismissed U.S. claims that civilians were not targeted. "The truth is so horrifying that even U.S. propaganda never dared to assert what the U.S. military is claiming today. Sirik is not a story. Civilians are real. The victims are real," Baghaei wrote on social media platform X.

Iranian media reported that funerals for the four victims in Kuhestak would be held on August 21.

The six-month war has sent oil prices soaring, rattled the global economy, and created mounting political problems for Trump’s Republican Party ahead of November’s midterm elections in the United States.

Only 31% of Americans support the war, while about 63% disapprove, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll in August. Voters are particularly unhappy about high gasoline prices. Since fighting resumed over the weekend, international benchmark Brent crude has climbed to around $95 a barrel, up more than 30% from the start of the war.

Trump’s approval rating has also slipped from 40% to 33% since the conflict erupted, per the Reuters/Ipsos poll. On August 20, Trump said he did not think the new military campaign would last long. He also reiterated that the upcoming election was not a factor in his Iran strategy.

"First of all, I’m not running. My party is running, and I’m going to help my party," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "But I think my party respects that we are not allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons." Iran has denied seeking to build nuclear arms.

Retired Lieutenant General Tariq Khan, a former commander of Pakistan’s Border Force, assessed that the United States "is now in an increasingly unstable strategic position in its Iran war." He told Al Jazeera: "The U.S. has failed to restore the maritime environment that existed before the war and is now expending military resources to deal with a problem created by the war itself," referring to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The strait was once an international waterway with free transit, carrying about one-fifth of the world’s commercial oil before the war. Tehran shut the route in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 18 that started the conflict. Though Washington has repeatedly declared the strait open, only a handful of vessels now pass through daily, and Iran continues to target ships attempting to cross.

On August 20, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two oil tankers struck mines and were disabled while attempting unauthorized passage. Separately, Saudi shipping company Bahri reported that two Filipino sailors were killed in an attack on one of its vessels earlier this week.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Administration (PGSA), established by Tehran to control the Strait of Hormuz, added 11 ships to its blacklist for alleged "non-compliance" this week, in addition to 45 vessels listed last week. The PGSA said those ships would be fined, detained, or confiscated unless they submit required paperwork to Iran before attempting to cross the strait.

In parallel, the United States has intensified its campaign to economically isolate Iran, threatening major sanctions against countries that trade with Tehran, while maintaining its own blockade at the Strait of Hormuz. On August 20, Trump again asserted U.S. control over the strait, saying American forces were helping "many ships out every day with millions of barrels of oil."

"We, for the most part, do it without any trouble. Occasionally they fire a drone, and we shoot it down. We have control, very strong," he said. Earlier on August 19, he claimed the U.S. Navy was helping escort about 30 ships out of the strait daily. Before the war, around 130 ships passed through the waterway each day.

Khan, the former Pakistani general, argued that Iran understands it cannot defeat the United States with conventional weapons and is seeking to make the war costly for Trump. "If Trump escalates, Iran can portray the U.S. as being dragged into another Middle East war; if he shows restraint, Tehran can claim that U.S. military superiority cannot force Iran to surrender," he said.

"Iran does not need to win on the battlefield; it needs to stand firm, sustain economic disruption, and make the war politically costly for the U.S. Tehran must make any U.S. victory increasingly expensive—militarily, economically, and electorally."