US, Israel unleash heaviest day of strikes on Iran
The United States and Israel have hammered Iran with what the Pentagon and Iranians on the ground called “the most intense air strikes of the war” despite bets by global markets that President Donald Trump would seek to end the conflict soon.
Increasing the risks for the global economy, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said that they would block oil shipments from the Gulf unless the US and Israeli attacks end.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also said Qatar fired missiles at the US-run Al Udeid base and the Al Harir base in Iraqi Kurdistan.
But the White House reiterated Trump’s threat to hit Iran hard over its moves to halt the flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz, where the war has effectively halted a fifth of world shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas.
“Today will again be our most intense day of strikes in Iran: most fighters, most bombers, most strikes, more refined and better intelligence than ever before,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, U.S. time.
In a message posted to the Truth Social platform later in the day, Trump said, “Over the last few hours, we have struck and completely destroyed 10 of Iran’s ‘inactive’ minelayers.”
US Central Command later said on social media platform
Tehran residents reached by Reuters described the most intense night of bombardment of the war.
“It was like hell. They were bombing every part of Tehran,” said a local resident who spoke on the phone on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “My children are afraid of sleeping now.”
The historic rise in crude oil prices to nearly US$120 ($A168) per barrel on Monday was reversed, with Brent crude falling back below US$90 ($A126) on Tuesday.
A source familiar with Israel’s war plans told Reuters that the Israeli military wants to inflict as much damage as possible before the window for further attacks closes, assuming Trump could end the war at any time.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said the war would continue until his country and the United States decided it was time to cease hostilities, but that Israel was not seeking an “endless war”.
At a press conference on Monday, Trump said the United States had already inflicted significant damage and predicted the conflict would end sooner than the four weeks he initially set.
Several congressional aides said they expected the White House to soon request as much as US$50 billion ($70 billion) in additional funds for the war.
Many senior Iranian officials opposed it.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf said in his post on X: “Of course we do not want a ceasefire; we believe that the attacker should be shot in the mouth so that he can learn a lesson.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told PBS that Tehran is unlikely to continue negotiations with the United States.
A Revolutionary Guard spokesman said Tehran would not allow “one liter” of Middle East oil to reach America or its allies while US and Israeli attacks continue.
“We are the ones who will determine the end of the war,” the spokesman said.
According to Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, more than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed since US and Israeli airstrikes began on February 28.
Many people were also killed in Israel’s attacks on Lebanon in order to eradicate the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which opened fire on Israel in solidarity with Iran.
12 people lost their lives in Iran’s attacks on Israel. Iran struck US military bases and diplomatic missions in the Arab Gulf states, but also hit hotels, closed airports and damaged oil infrastructure.
In addition to the six U.S. soldiers killed at the start of the conflict, the Pentagon estimated Tuesday that about 140 American soldiers were injured, the vast majority of whom were minors.
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