United States President Donald Trump has declared that American military strikes on Iran will continue until he is satisfied that their objectives have been achieved, warning that the campaign will intensify if Tehran refuses to negotiate.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said the United States would sustain its military operations, stressing that the attacks would continue “until I say it’s enough.”
“We’re going to hit them very hard tonight, very hard tomorrow night,” he said, adding that the campaign would not end until he determined its goals had been met.
Trump warned that the United States would eventually target Iran’s energy infrastructure, saying, “I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets.”
He also claimed that power plants and bridges could become targets in the coming days unless Iran agreed to a peace deal that included abandoning its nuclear programme.
Providing an operational update later on Tuesday, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that another wave of air and naval strikes had been carried out against dozens of Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and along the country’s coastline.
According to CENTCOM, US fighter jets, drones, and naval vessels launched precision strikes on Iranian missile and drone sites, naval assets, and coastal defence systems during a seven-hour operation aimed at reducing Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian vessels.
The military also confirmed that US forces had resumed a naval blockade on vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
The latest military action follows Trump’s notification to Congress that operations would resume after Iran allegedly violated a memorandum of understanding by targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US President did not rule out deploying American ground forces if necessary, particularly to secure the removal of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles.
While insisting that US operations had sought to avoid civilian casualties, Trump warned that all options remained under consideration.
“You better make a deal, or you’re not going to have anything left,” he said.
Trump also expressed scepticism about further negotiations with Iran, accusing its leaders of dishonesty and stating that he was no longer interested in diplomatic talks despite having spoken with negotiators an hour before the interview.
He praised members of his Cabinet, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, for their handling of the conflict and also announced the removal of the 20 per cent fee previously charged on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz for several Gulf states.