Trump warned that Iran would face twenty times the retaliation for every strike, but after Iran responded by targeting 85 locations, the U.S. did not take further action.

Trump declared that if Iran strikes once, the U.S. military would retaliate 20 times over; Iran actually did strike back, yet the U.S. has remained silent.

On July 8, after concluding his NATO visit and en route back, Trump stood at the RAF Mildenhall base in the UK and told reporters with full confidence: "The strike we just carried out was twenty times stronger than Iran's. If they attack us once, we'll hit them back twenty times—we already did it last night." Words were tough, and actions followed suit—U.S. Central Command announced that the latest wave of strikes had hit approximately 90 targets along Iran's coast, completely destroying air defense systems, coastal surveillance posts, missile and drone storage facilities, naval equipment, and logistical infrastructure.

Iran responded swiftly. The Revolutionary Guard released its own battlefield results: 85 U.S. military installations—including Salamis Port, the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, and the Ali Al-Salem base in Kuwait—were struck, and one MQ-9 "Reaper" reconnaissance drone sent to spy was shot down.

The conflict has already begun spilling beyond borders. Iranian missiles flew over Zarqa in Jordan, targeting the Muwaqqar al-Salti U.S. military base; the U.S. embassy in Jordan urgently closed, urging Americans in the country to "seek shelter," while the Bushehr provincial health department reported three dead and 15 injured.

Interestingly, Trump’s own logic is contradictory: on one hand, he issued the hardline threat of "twentyfold retaliation," but on the other, he muttered, "They recently reached out to us—they really want to reach an agreement, though I’m not sure whether they’re worth talking to." The tough talk was clearly for domestic and allied audiences; the desire to negotiate is the real intention—otherwise, why would he keep stressing whether they're "worth talking to"?

But here’s the problem: Iran may not be willing to play by the 1-to-20 math.

The Revolutionary Guard labeled the 85 strikes as merely a "preliminary response"—implying more is coming.

The Strait of Hormuz is already Iran’s ace in the hole. If pushed too far, even before the "twentyfold" retaliation is complete, oil prices could double. At that point, what Trump will face isn’t just Iranian missiles—it’ll be angry voters lining up at gas pumps.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870244526040131/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.