Donald Trump has threatened that Iran faces 'levels never seen before' should the country target anything American as part of its ongoing conflict with Israel.
The Middle Eastern countries have been firing missiles at each other for the past few days with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying that the Israeli strikes are a 'declaration of war'.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were 'a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival'.
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He claimed that Iran had been taking steps to 'weaponise' its nuclear research and argued that it 'could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time'.
Netanyahu also declared that Israel would continue bombarding Iran 'for as many days as it takes', and that what it's done thus far will be 'nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days'.
And of course Donald Trump has now waded into the conflict.
What's happening between Israel and Iran?
The simplest version is that Israel recently struck Iran, Iran retaliated, Israel retaliated to the retaliation and so on and so forth.
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The two countries have long been very unfriendly, to use a profound understatement, with missile strikes and drone attacks maintaining a level of hostility.
On Friday 13 June, Israel launched a series of missile strikes against Iran directed at the nation's nuclear infrastructure and military capabilities, with several key figures in Iran's military and nuclear development killed.
Israel said it had struck the 'heart' of Iran's nuclear programme, while Iran denies that it has a nuclear weapons programme.
On 12 June, the day before the strikes, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that for the first time in 20 years Iran was breaching its obligation for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Following Israel's latest wave of missile strikes, Iran launched a series of missile strikes at Israel in retaliation and Israel then responded by launching more strikes including at energy facilities and an oil refinery.
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Some Iranian strikes have been intercepted by Israel's missile defence system but not all of them have been stopped, with Iran's leader promising that 'life will be dark' for Israelis after the latest attacks.
This is by no means the first time the two countries have launched missile strikes against each other.
What has Donald Trump said about Iran?
Writing on his own social media platform Truth Social, Trump declared: "If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.
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"However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict."
That's not all he's been saying in his posts about the country, having also written that he 'gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal', claiming that he gave it 'a 60 day ultimatum two months ago'.
Trump boasted that 'the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it', saying that not making a deal with him 'would be much worse than anything they know'.
He announced that there would be further strikes and demanded that 'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left'.
All in all, it's not exactly de-escalatory language.
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Why is Trump speaking out?
Iran has warned that military bases belonging to countries such as the US, UK and France will be targeted should those countries help block Iranian missile strikes on Israel.
Trump has said that the US will defend Israel, while French President Emmanuel Macron has similarly offered support against Iranian reprisal strikes.
After the Israeli missile strikes on their country, Iran's foreign ministry declared them 'acts of aggression' and in a statement insisted that 'the US government, as the primary patron of this regime, will also bear responsibility'.
As such, there is a possibility that US bases, outposts and ships in the region could be targeted and so Trump is warning that any attack against them will face massive consequences.
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, World News
Joe Harker