Trump threatens to 'hit Iran very hard again' if Lebanon 'proxies' not stopped

• US president warns of ‘hitting Iran harder’ again if it fails to restrain what he described as its ‘proxies’ in Lebanon from creating unrest

• Suggests Washington could ‘take over’ Strait of Hormuz and collect tolls

• Iran rejects threats as US–Iran negotiations continue in Switzerland

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has threatened to “hit Iran very hard again” if it fails to restrain what he described as its “proxies” in Lebanon from creating unrest.

“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said in a post on the social media platform Truth Social.

“If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”

pic.twitter.com/OD3kNsXnqI

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 21, 2026

In a separate interview with Fox News, President Trump also suggested that the United States may “take over” the Strait of Hormuz in the future “if they have to and collect tolls”.

Trump described the idea as Washington acting as the “guardian angel” of the Strait of Hormuz and the broader Middle East, according to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, who spoke to the president.

"You close it and you won't have a country." President Trump said he told Iranian officials about the Strait of Hormuz. "You won't even make it back to your fu*king country."

"We may take over the Strait, if we have to," Trump said. "If they don't make a deal, we'll collect… pic.twitter.com/cErvdjCJmK

— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) June 21, 2026

Yingst reported that Trump said this would involve the US “taking 20 per cent of the oil that passes through the strait”.

The remarks come at a time when US–Iran talks are underway in Switzerland in what has been described as a “constructive atmosphere,” according to Al Jazeera.

Reporting from Switzerland, journalist Bin Javaid said the process was being “choreographed into multiple sessions, themed around the major sticking points,” adding that the first session focused on Lebanon, followed by discussions on the Strait of Hormuz and a third on Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions.

He said he witnessed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking with Qatar’s prime minister before walking out, adding that “as soon as journalists were cleared from the room, the Iranian delegation came back inside.”

“The talks are carrying on in a constructive atmosphere, despite the tweets you’ve seen in the last hour or so from the US president,” he said, noting that all delegations had returned to their rooms and would continue discussions throughout the day.

 US–Iran MoU a ‘ceasefire extension’, not final deal: Trump

President Trump has also said that the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding with Iran is “just a ceasefire extension,” according to Fox News.

Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, who said he spoke with the president for 20 minutes, reported that Trump does not consider the MoU a final deal and believes he “holds the cards and maintains a variety of options if the Iranians don’t make these serious commitments at the negotiating table.”

“I have a 60-day option, and I can do whatever I want after that option,” Trump was quoted as saying by Yingst.

 Iran’s top negotiator rejects US threats

Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed US threats, saying Tehran is prepared to respond if necessary, according to Al Jazeera.

“Don’t they think to themselves that if their threats had any effect, they wouldn’t have reached the point of desperation they are in today? We don’t count on the American threats,” Ghalibaf posted on X.

با خودشان فکر نمی‌کنند که اگر تهدیدهایشان نتیجه‌ای داشت، به استیصال امروز نمی‌رسیدند؟ ما تهدیدهای آمریکایی‌ها را به جایی حساب نمی‌کنیم.
بهتر است مراقب اظهارنظرهای خود باشند، نیروهای مسلح ما آماده‌اند تا به نحوی دیگر پاسخشان را بدهند. هر چه حرف بزنند، این ماییم که عمل می‌کنیم.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) June 21, 2026

“They [had] better be careful with their comments, our armed forces are ready to respond in a different way. Whatever they say, we are the ones who will act.”