Trump threatens US strikes on energy plants and bridges if Iran doesn’t resume talks

President Donald Trump this week said the United States will intensify operations against Iran in the coming days, targeting critical infrastructure and hitting the Middle East country “very hard” until it returns to the negotiating table.

Trump’s remarks to Fox News late Tuesday came amid the fourth consecutive day of strikes on Iran. U.S. Central Command said it hit Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities and coastal defense systems over the course of seven hours the same evening.

Trump vowed to keep up the relentless pace of attacks until he determines it is “enough,” according to Fox News.

“Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants,” Trump said. “Next week comes the bridges. We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”

Trump gathered top advisers in the Situation Room of the White House on Tuesday to discuss new plans for strikes on Iran, Axios reported.

Just after 6 a.m. on Wednesday, U.S. forces began another round of attacks, according to CENTCOM, once again targeting Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping. 

It’s been less than a month since the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding that was supposed to end the hostilities and start a period of diplomatic talks.

That agreement all but fell apart after Iran resumed its strikes on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Last week, Trump declared the ceasefire “over” and said the U.S. would keep up attacks as long as Iran continued to threaten traffic in the vital waterway, through which nearly a fifth of the globe’s oil typically passes.

Iran has responded with its own wave of attacks on neighboring Persian Gulf countries, sending drones and missiles toward U.S. forces in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain.

Striking Iranian bridges and power plants would mark a significant escalation in military action for U.S. forces, which have so far focused on taking out Iran’s ability to attack vessels in the strait.

It could also mean a return to full-scale combat in a war Trump said would last a matter of weeks. The U.S. and Israel first launched joint attacks against Iran on Feb. 28, and a majority of Americans now expect the war to drag on for an extended period, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Trump on Tuesday reinstated a naval blockade to stop traffic from entering or exiting Iranian ports. The blockade had previously been lifted as part of a ceasefire.

He also briefly entertained the idea of charging other ships a 20% fee on cargo in exchange for U.S. protection in the strait, a proposal that would’ve upended decades of international maritime law.

Trump walked back those comments within a day, saying he would replace the proposed fee with trade and investment agreements under which Gulf states would make what he described as “massive” investments in the United States.

Iran has attacked seven commercial ships in the last week, leaving nearly a dozen civilian crew members dead, missing or injured, according to CENTCOM.

Iran said more than 30 people have been killed in U.S. airstrikes in recent days, The Associated Press reported.