U.S. President Donald Trump said early Wednesday that U.S. strikes on Iran will continue until he decides they have gone far enough, stressing that Washington had urged Tehran to reach an agreement.
In remarks to Fox News, Trump said that U.S. representatives held talks with Iran on Tuesday, noting that Tehran is still showing “some resistance, but not much.”
He confirmed that he will expand the scope of U.S. strikes on Iran next week to include power plants and bridges if Tehran does not reach an agreement.
Trump said: “Next week will be very bad for them because next week the power plants will be targeted. Next week the bridges will be targeted.”
He added: “We will destroy all of their power plants. We will destroy all of their bridges unless they return to the negotiating table.”
Trump’s remarks came as U.S. forces carried out strikes on Iran for the fourth consecutive day and reimposed a naval blockade on the country’s ports.
The statements coincided with a 1% rise in U.S. crude oil futures, which climbed above $80 per barrel amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Iranian media quoted officials in Hormozgan Province as saying that the sounds heard in Bandar Abbas, the coastal areas, and the islands in the Gulf were linked to clashes in the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. military had earlier announced the resumption of a naval blockade on ships traveling to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas, alongside launching an additional round of strikes against Iran.
The military said that more than 20 U.S. Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft are currently operating across the Middle East, adding that U.S. forces remain on high alert and fully prepared.
On Tuesday evening, the U.S. military began an additional round of strikes against Iran at 19:00 GMT, with the stated objective of continuing to weaken Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
On Tuesday, Iran warned that the United States’ announcement of the resumption of the naval blockade on its ports had undermined the memorandum of understanding with Washington aimed at ending the war in preparation for peace talks.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that Trump’s decision to reimpose the blockade had “in one way or another undermined the memorandum of understanding” that had been concluded through Pakistani mediation.
