U.S. Tightens Iran Blockade, Trump Threatens Power Plants as War Enters Fifth Day
American warships seal off Iranian ports as Tehran shuts the Strait of Hormuz and strikes U.S. allies across the Gulf
The United States and Iran traded strikes for a fifth consecutive day Wednesday after Washington reimposed a full naval blockade of Iranian ports, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz and launch retaliatory strikes on countries hosting U.S. bases, according to The Guardian.
U.S. Central Command said it completed an additional round of strikes on "dozens" of military targets near the strait and along Iran's coastal region at 10 p.m. EDT Tuesday, hours after the Navy reimposed its blockade at 4 p.m. EDT with more than 20 warships deployed to the region, The Hill reported.
President Donald Trump told Fox News's Trey Yingst that the U.S. would keep escalating. "We're going to hit them very hard," he said, according to The Hill. Speaking separately, Trump warned that strikes could get "really bad" for Iran next week if power plants become targets, CNBC reported, a threat Fox News said extended to bridges as well unless Tehran agrees to negotiate. The Guardian noted that hitting civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.
Iran threatened to halt all Middle East energy exports in response to the blockade and continued attacking tankers and U.S. allies including Bahrain, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, according to The Guardian. PBS NewsHour reported the blockade is intended, in Trump's words, to starve Iran's regime of oil revenue, while Iran refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil chokepoint.
Trump has also declined to rule out a U.S. takeover of Iran's Kharg Island, a key oil export terminal, according to Fox News, which reported that military experts believe Marines could seize the island quickly but would struggle to hold it against missile and drone attacks. The conflict marks the most formal step yet toward full-scale war between the two countries, PBS NewsHour reported.
— Compiled from reporting by CNBC, The Hill, PBS NewsHour, The Guardian and Fox News.