Donald Trump says US may hit Iran ‘Very Hard’ over next week as strikes intensify & oil prices surge: Here’s what this could mean for the war

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States is preparing to intensify its military campaign against Iran in the coming days. The conflict in the Middle East has now entered its third week, with no clear signs of easing.

In an interview with Fox News Radio, Trump stated that American forces were ready to launch heavier strikes on Iranian targets soon. The statement came as the United States and its close ally Israel continue a military campaign that began on February 28 and has expanded across the region.

Below is a detailed look at the latest developments, the scale of the military campaign, and the wider impact of the conflict.

Speaking to Fox News Radio, Trump said the United States was preparing for a stronger military response.

“We're going to be hitting them very hard over the next week,” the president said, indicating that the scale of attacks could increase further.

Earlier the same day, Trump used his social media platform Truth Social to make a series of posts about the ongoing conflict. In those posts, he claimed that the United States was “totally destroying” Iran.

“We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise,” he wrote in one message. Trump added that Iran’s navy and air force had been severely weakened and that missiles, drones and other military capabilities were being destroyed. He also said the United States had “unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time.”

In another message, the president suggested that significant developments could occur later in the day.

At a briefing at the United States Department of Defense, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military campaign was proceeding according to plan.

According to Hegseth, the objective of the operation is to disable Iran’s military capabilities. “The operation is on plan to defeat, destroy, disable all of their meaningful military capabilities at a pace the world has never seen before,” he said.

He also revealed that Friday marked the largest wave of attacks since the conflict began. The United States and Israel together have struck around 15,000 targets across Iran since the start of the campaign.

Officials say the military operations are designed to weaken Iran’s ability to carry out further attacks in the region.

While the military campaign is intensifying, there are also growing calls in Washington for efforts to reduce tensions.

The conflict has already had a noticeable impact on global energy markets. Benchmark crude prices have climbed sharply, with Brent Crude trading near $100 a barrel.

The rise in prices has been linked to disruptions in the Gulf region, particularly the situation around the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway is one of the world’s most important shipping routes and normally carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and natural gas exports. Shipping has slowed after Iran effectively closed the strait, causing concern across global markets.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Thursday that the Islamic Republic would continue efforts to keep the waterway closed. In his first public remarks since succeeding his father Ali Khamenei, he also warned that Tehran could open additional fronts in the conflict if the United States and Israel continued their attacks.

According to figures from officials and non-government organizations, nearly 2,600 people have been killed in the conflict so far. Most of the casualties have been reported in Iran.

The rising toll has intensified international concern as the war moves into its third week. In another social media post on Thursday, Trump defended the military campaign while also addressing the increase in oil prices.

He wrote that the United States is the largest oil producer in the world and therefore benefits when prices rise. However, he said his primary concern as president was preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Trump added that stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and threatening the Middle East and the wider world remained a key objective. As the conflict continues, the coming days could prove critical in determining how the situation develops across the region.