President Donald Trump hurled new threats to bomb key infrastructure in Iran as his frustration escalates over the ongoing conflict.
It comes after the U.S. carried out eleven straight days of strikes against Iran, and the two countries appear farther apart than ever on reaching an agreement since talks crumbled.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Targeting civilian infrastructure could be considered war crimes. Under international law, it is a war crime to target civilian objects that are not a military objective.
It was not the first time the president has threatened to go after Iranian infrastructure in social media posts since he launched the war at the end of February.
The president’s post came as he is headed to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday morning for the dignified transfer of service members killed in the war.
At least three U.S. service members were killed in Iranian attacks over the weekend, and the military confirmed a fourth is believed to be dead, bringing the number of Americans killed in the conflict to eighteen since the war began.
Trump wrote in a separate post that he was headed there to “HONOR OUR HEROES,” but in a series of posts late Tuesday, the president appeared to be defending the casualties in the war he started with a post showing a comparison with the U.S. casualties from previous conflicts.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump claimed Iran wanted to make a deal, but he did not indicate that there was any clear path forward on what would come next.
“They want to meet desperately to try and end it because they’re getting decimated,” Trump insisted.
He claimed the U.S. had no interest, however, until they want to meet in a “meaningful way.”
The U.S. carried out another round of strikes on Iran just hours later on Tuesday night, making it the eleventh consecutive day of strikes.
CENTCOM said that the strikes to date have targeted Iranian military operation centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure.
The Pentagon has said that over the past three months, Iran has targeted more than 30 commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz despite the temporary ceasefire that had been in place for the brief period that the U.S. and Iran were in negotiations before the memorandum of understanding fell apart.
But Trump’s threat to go after infrastructure used by civilians could pose challenges for the military officials taking his orders.
Targeting civilian infrastructure came up when Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley was grilling Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Merkley asked the general about reports of the U.S. striking a desalination plant that provides water to 20 villages and another one at Qeshm Island. He questioned whether those were deliberate targets. Caine said he was unaware of such reports and would have to get back to him.
“You are aware that infrastructure that civilians rely on to survive is not generally considered legitimate military targets?” Merkley asked.
“Sir, as you know, we have a robust process which considers a target,” Caine said. “It goes through a system that looks at a variety of considerations to include what you’re alluding to around both purely civilian or dual-use targets.”
The Joint Chiefs chairman said he has “trust and confidence in CENTCOM,” to which Merkely responded it sounded like Caine was reassuring the Senate the U.S. would not target infrastructure primarily for civilians. He said it would be nice to hear Caine say they would follow the law.
“It follows the law,” Caine said, confirming he understands international law and noting he had a “lot of lawyers that help me understand it.”
