- US President says military campaign will intensify unless Tehran reaches agreement, while tensions rise around Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump said Washington held talks with Tehran on Tuesday and called on Iran to reach a deal to end the escalating conflict, warning that US military action would expand if negotiations fail.
Trump told Fox News, said future strikes could target key Iranian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges, if Tehran does not return to the negotiating table.
“Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges,” Trump said.
“We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate,” he added, repeating previous warnings of intensified military action.
Asked how long the US strikes would continue, Trump said: “They’ll continue until I say it’s enough.”
The remarks came as US forces continued military operations against Iran, with Washington saying its campaign aims to reduce Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
The United States has launched continued strikes against Iranian targets, while a renewed naval blockade targeting Iranian ports has reportedly taken effect.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said vessels are restricted from travelling to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas, adding that more than 20 US Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft are operating across the Middle East.
CENTCOM said US forces have struck dozens of Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and along Iran’s coastline in an effort to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian crews.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until what it described as US “acts of aggression” come to an end, dw.com reports.
“The region’s oil and gas exports will either be available for everyone or for no one,” the IRGC said in a statement.
United States maintains that international shipping routes through the Strait remain open, although maritime traffic has declined significantly amid the ongoing conflict.
