'It was just a love tap': Trump says US carried out strikes on Iran but ceasefire still on
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump described the move as a “love tap” after the US Navy strikes targeted Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran earlier Thursday, May 7.
Navy strikes on Iran ‘just a love tap’
Trump’s “love tap” statement came on Thursday, May 7, during the president’s conversation with ABC News. President Trump also affirmed that a ceasefire, which came into effect on April 7, remains in place, adding, “It’s in effect.”
Sharing a post on X, ABC News senior political correspondent Rachel Scott said that Trump told her that the US military’s response was a “love tap.” She further revealed that when she asked Trump whether the strikes meant the ceasefire was over, Trump replied: "No, no, the ceasefire is going. It's in effect."
President Trump tells me in a phone call the retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets are just a "love tap."
— Rachel Scott (@rachelvscott) May 7, 2026
"It's just a love tap."
When I asked if it means the ceasefire is over.
"No, no, the ceasefire is going. It's in effect."
Later, Trump shared a post on Truth Social and said the three destroyers were able to transit the Strait of Hormuz "very successfully" while under fire. However, Iranian destroyers were “completely destroyed,” Trump added.
🚨 "Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers... just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them… pic.twitter.com/e0sTYzKjTE
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 7, 2026
US military targets Iranian ports
During its retaliatory strikes on Iran, the US military targeted sites that were allegedly involved in attacks on US warships in what it called unprovoked hostilities by Tehran.
“US forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as US Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman," US Central Command wrote on X.
The US military targeted Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz, including Qeshm, and Bandar Khamir.
The US destroyers targeted by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz were the USS Truxtun, USS Mason, and USS Rafael Peralta.
"Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta, and USS Mason transited the international sea passage. No US assets were struck,” the CENTCOM added.
Iran accuses US of breaking truce
Iran has strongly reacted to the US’s fresh strikes, describing them as a violation of the ceasefire. Iran said that the US targeted two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and attacked civilian areas.
A spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, in a statement carried by state media, said that the US targeted "an Iranian oil tanker traveling from Iran's coastal waters near Jask toward the Strait of Hormuz, as well as another vessel entering the Strait of Hormuz near the Emirati port of Fujairah."
"At the same time, with the cooperation of some regional countries, they carried out air attacks on civilian areas along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik, and Qeshm Island."
