Trump warns US will ‘knock out’ Iran’s power plants and bridges next week — unless regime makes a deal
President Trump on Tuesday warned the US will pummel Iran until “I say it’s enough” and that “energy targets” are next in his ramped-up war effort.
“I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets,” Trump told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst in an interview on the stepped-up military operation.
“We’re going to hit them very hard tonight. We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We’re going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants,” Trump said.
“We’re going to hit them very hard tonight. We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We’re going to hit them very hard the night after, and then 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.”
The escalation in rhetoric is reminiscent of Trump’s ominous Easter warning, in which he threatened to bomb Iranian infrastructure on “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day” if the “crazy b—–ds” running the country didn’t “Open the F—in’ Strait.”
The president had given the regime an April 7 deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz, further warning that “a whole civilization will die” if Tehran refused.
The tough talk produced a short-lived, two-week cease-fire that Tehran agreed to on the deadline Trump set.
The president’s latest threat to expand the list of US military targets in Iran came as the US forces battered coastal parts of the country for a fourth consecutive day.
The airstrikes, along with the reimposition of a US Naval blockade on Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz, are part of the president’s effort to apply pressure on the regime to agree to a peace deal and abide by its terms.
“The only way you can negotiate with these people is through strength, and the only strength is military strength, and that’s what we’ve done,” Trump told Yingst.
The president later likened Iran to a “great boxer” who needs to be “beat up” some more before submitting.
“It’s like a great boxer. You think you have them beat, and then all of a sudden he comes back and he gives you a shot,” Trump said.
“They have some fight left, but they don’t have much.”
The president asserted US forces are “beating them up really badly” and blamed escalating tensions on the fact that the Iranian government has “some bad ones in there — some very bad ones in there — and I think they’re the ones that are stopping a deal.”
When asked whether seizing Kharg Island – a critical Iranian oil export hub in the Persian Gulf – was possible, Trump indicated it was “unlikely” but not off the table.
“I think it’s unlikely,” Trump said, adding: “If we degrade them far enough and deep enough back, I would do that.”
Trump said he currently does not plan to deploy US ground troops for that or other missions.
“Sometimes you need a ground campaign, but we have other people that will do the ground campaign for us. But we already hit Kharg Island,” he said.
