Coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on military targets in Iran continued methodically on Tuesday, even as President Trump raised his rhetoric threatening the country to apocalyptic levels.
The United States launched a series of more than 90 strikes on Kharg Island, Iran’s oil export hub, early Tuesday. A U.S. military official characterized the Kharg strikes as “restrikes” — hitting targets that have been struck before to ensure more damage. He said that the United States was not yet striking Iranian infrastructure on the island, which lies in the Persian Gulf off the country’s southern coast.
Mr. Trump has set a deadline of 8 p.m. Eastern time for Iran to end its effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, saying on Monday that otherwise every bridge in the country would be “decimated” and every power plant would be “out of business.”
U.S. Central Command said in March that a “large-scale precision strike” on Kharg Island destroyed “naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and multiple other military sites.” The statement, posted on social media, also said that while more than 90 Iranian military targets were hit, the island’s oil infrastructure had been preserved.
But that did not stop Mr. Trump, under pressure to find an exit from the war, from using the threat of more strikes to try to pressure Iranian negotiators.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Mr. Trump both threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” and seemed to compliment Iran’s leaders, saying that “now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”
Two U.S. military officials said Tuesday that while the president has a range of military options, the U.S. campaign remains focused on further degrading Iran’s ability to launch ballistic missiles and drones.
One official said that both the United States and Israel were aware that they have limited time to do as much damage to Iran’s ability to reconstitute its arsenal before Mr. Trump exits the war, which is unpopular with the wider American public and Mr. Trump’s more narrow political base.
A second U.S. official said that Mr. Trump wants a deal with Iran and is doing everything he can to increase his leverage. Both officials cautioned that the president could always decide to launch major strikes on Iranian infrastructure and other targets beyond the military if he does not believe he is getting enough from negotiations to be able to credibly declare victory.
The president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have continued to insist that the American and Israeli military strikes have largely destroyed Iran’s ability to launch missiles, even as Tehran continues to launch strikes.
The Pentagon canceled a planned news conference for Tuesday morning.
Helene Cooper is a Pentagon correspondent for The Times. She was previously an editor, diplomatic correspondent and White House correspondent.
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