Trump warns strikes against Iran will continue 'until I say it's enough' as he compares country to a 'great boxer'

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 02:25, 15 July 2026 | Updated: 02:25, 15 July 2026 Donald Trump compared Iran to a boxer and said the military will stop hitting them until 'I say it's enough' as the US was set to continue heavy strikes on Tehran tonight.  The president told Fox News the US plans to launch at least two more days of strikes against Iran and that such attacks will continue 'until I say it's enough.' He likened Iran to 'like a great boxer.'  'You think you have them beat, then they'll come back and give you a shot,' Trump said. The president said US forces would 'hit them very hard tonight, very hard tomorrow night.'  'We're going to hit them very hard tonight. We're going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We're going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants,' Trump said.  Unless Iran comes to the table and negotiate, he says the US will begin targeting power plants and bridges as soon as next week - a threat for escalated bombing that the president has made for months but not yet followed through on. 'I'll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we'll hit energy targets,' Trump added. Donald Trump compared Iran to a boxer that they'll stop hitting when 'I say its enough' as the US continued a week full of strikes on Tehran In an interview with Fox News Channel, the president said the US plans to launch at least two more days of strikes against Iran and that such attacks will continue 'until I say it's enough' The president suggested later in the interview that he wasn't interested in continuing negotiations immediately with Iran because 'they lie.' But Trump also said the last contact he had with negotiators was an hour ago. Trump said that US forces had been careful not to harm Iran's civilian population with strikes up until now, but warned Iran: 'You better make a deal, or you're not going to have anything left.' And he didn't rule out using US ground forces to ensure that his key objectives are met, especially when it comes to removing Iran's enriched uranium. The US military says it has reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports in response to Iran's attacks on commercial ships on the Strait of Hormuz, as the interim ceasefire deal unravels and concerns grow about a return to all-out war. There are at least 19 warships in the northern Arabian Sea, including two aircraft carriers, and an amphibious assault ship with more than 1,000 Marines aboard, to enforce the blockade. US Central Command also said that there are 'hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East,' in a social media post Tuesday. The US military strikes that are hitting Iran just an hour ahead of the start of the naval blockade are aimed at limiting the country's ability to strike merchant shipping, the military said. A still image from handout video released July 14, 2026 said to show a drone being launched by Iran from an unknown location to attack U.S. positions at Azraq base in Jordan Members of the public attend a memorial ceremony service for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Grand Mosalla of Tehran According to a social media post by U.S. Central Command, the military is trying to 'continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping.' The blockade goes into effect at 4pm eastern time and, according to U.S. Central Command, the strikes began at 3pm. Iranian state media, meanwhile, reported the sound of explosions in the southwestern city of Ahvaz and the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. The reports did not immediately provide further details. It comes as nearly a dozen civilians have been killed, injured or are missing following Iranian attacks on seven commercial ships over the last week, the US military said Tuesday, as fighting escalated between the US and Iran. Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads US Central Command, said in a statement that Iran also launched dozens of missiles and drones at neighboring Gulf countries. 'US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives,' Cooper said. The US has reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports in response to Iran's attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor in the Middle East, as an interim ceasefire deal unravels and concerns grow about a return to all-out war. The US had carried out another wave of strikes ahead of reimposing the blockade, the US military's Central Command said.