Trump sending message to Iran with AI Kharg Island video, says Vance

Vice President Vance told reporters on Monday that President Trump was sending a message to Iran by posting what appears to be an AI-generated video of Iran’s Kharg Island being blown up.

Trump “would be the first to say he doesn’t make announcements about military actions on social media, but I think that he’s sending a message to the Iranians,” Vance said at Joint Base Andrews en route to a stop in Michigan.

“Look, we know that they continue to shoot at commercial shipping. We continue to have a lot of tools at our disposal to prevent them from doing so, or at least cut down on them from doing so,” he continued. “And that’s what the president is saying is, ‘Look, you guys are shooting at commercial shipping. You guys are behaving like a terrorist country. You’ve got to stop, or there’s going to be some consequences.'”

The U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes on Sunday after the U.S. struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island. The strike marked the first between the two countries in more than a month.

A U.S. Central Command spokesperson noted the attack came after U.S. forces said they observed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces “preparing to launch rockets with sea mines” into the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran retaliated early Monday, targeting U.S. military assets at bases in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

“Aggression and crimes will not solve the enemy’s desperation in attempting to weaken the Islamic Republic’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, and every attack will be met with even more devastating responses,” the IRGC said in a statement to the Iranian state-run Fars News Agency.

Trump vowed to respond to Iran’s retaliatory strikes during an interview with Fox News on Monday.

“We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response,” Trump said.