Iran threatens ‘long and painful strikes’ after Trump briefed on ‘final blow’ options

NewsWorldMiddle EastIran threatens ‘long and painful strikes’ after Trump briefed on ‘final blow’ optionsIran has threatened retaliation if Donald Trump acts on options to reopen the conflict in the Middle EastJames C. Reynolds Friday 01 May 2026 10:38 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2968713","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-strikes-united-states-donald-trump-b2968713.html","title":"Iran threatens ‘long and painful strikes’ after Trump briefed on ‘final blow’ options"}}CloseTrump says U.S. has 'already won' the war in Iran but he wants to win by a 'bigger margin'On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Middle East","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"}}Iran has threate...