President Donald Trump on Wednesday again threatened to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure after the 11th consecutive night of American strikes on the Islamic Republic.
In a Truth Social post Wednesday morning, Trump wrote that “any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. “will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT.”
CENTCOM claimed Tuesday night that its latest round of strikes targeted “Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure.” Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones at Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Iranian media reported that U.S. strikes hit parts of Iran’s electricity grid and water supply facilities. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that “strikes on power plants and transmission substations along the coast have knocked out cooling systems” and that residents of Khuzestan Province describe “rolling blackouts.”
Iran’s central military headquarters warned Tuesday that any U.S. attack on the country’s nuclear facilities would be considered an expansion of the war across the region and would be met with a “powerful” response. The statement came after Trump’s threat to bomb Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain “very heavily.”
Shipping tracking data from Kpler shows that there were only nine verified transits of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, and 13 verified crossings on Monday. Verified transits through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait also dropped Tuesday to 29 total, down 34 percent from the previous day. Yemen’s Houthis have declared a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.
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Axios reported Wednesday, citing a White House official and an Israeli source, that the U.S. and Israel are discussing a potential Oval Office meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week. It would be Netanyahu’s seventh visit since Trump returned to office, which Axios notes is “more than any other world leader.”
In a Wednesday press gaggle at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before flying to Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base to attend the dignified transfer of fallen American soldiers, Trump downplayed opposition to the war reflected in most opinion polls. “Americans aren’t against the war,” he said.“Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. They just don’t want high gas prices!”
The price of oil continued to rise, with Brent Crude above $95 per barrel on Wednesday morning. Gas prices remained elevated, with AAA reporting the national average price of regular gas at $4.06.
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