U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he’s “not at all” concerned about committing possible war crimes as he again threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants if Tehran does not meet his Tuesday 8 p.m. ET deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, the president refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off-limits.
Iran on Monday rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the conflict.
“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press.
Israel and the United States carried out a wave of attacks on Iran on Monday, killing more than 25 people. Iran responded with missile fire on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors.
Here is the latest:
Israeli TV station counts down to Trump deadline
As reporters spoke on air, Channel 13 TV’s evening newscast showed a large digital clock marking down the hours and minutes until Tuesday night’s deadline.
Trump lashes out at Pacific allies for not assisting in Iran fight
The president continued to grumble about NATO allies’ refusal to get involved in reopening the Strait of Hormuz and their hesitance to assist U.S. offensive operations against Iran.
But as he wrapped up his lengthy news conference Monday, he also fumed about the lack of support from Pacific allies.
“You know who else didn’t help us? South Korea didn’t help us,” Trump said. “You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Japan. We’ve got 50,000 soldiers in Japan to protect them from North Korea. We have 45,000 soldiers in South Korea to protect us from Kim Jong Un, who I get along with very well.”
Trump says it would take 4 hours to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants
The president described the consequences that Iran would face if it didn’t reach a deal with the U.S. by Trump’s 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline.
“We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night,” Trump said during his Monday news conference.
Power plants in Iran, he continued, would be “burning, exploding and never to be used again.”
Trump refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off limits in the U.S. response.
UN chief warns the US not to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the U.S. that attacking civilian infrastructure is banned under international law, his spokesman said Monday.
“Even if specific civilian infrastructure were to qualify as a military objective,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, an attack would still be prohibited if it risks “excessive incidental civilian harm.”
A court would need to decide whether such attacks were war crimes, he said.
Trump dismisses that his threatened attacks on Iran’s infrastructure would be war crimes
Trump says he’s “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes as he continues to threaten the destruction of Iran’s bridges and power plants if they don’t meet a Tuesday evening deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“I hope I don’t have to do it,” Trump added.
Israeli military is preparing for weeks of battle against Iran
The military’s chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, says the army’s chief has approved battle plans for the next three weeks in the absence of a ceasefire.
“Every day that passes, we hit them more and more. Already we have very good achievements, and we want to reach excellent achievements,” he told a press conference Monday.