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President Donald Trump has threatened to conduct an attack on Iran that’s “bigger than ever,” saying that he is still considering whether or not to do so after weeks of vowing to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure, in what experts say would be war crimes.
“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump told Axios’s Barak Ravid on Thursday.
The president said that Iran “wants to negotiate,” but aren’t ready to make a deal because “they haven’t received enough pain yet.” Trump added that Israel would join if he asked, but “we don’t need anybody” to join attacks.
The threat of a “bigger than ever” attack is chilling coming from a nuclear-armed president who, just months ago, made a genocidal threat against Iran, vowing that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”
Trump has also been pledging to carry out attacks on key civilian sites, saying last week that the U.S. will “knock out all” of Iran’s bridges and power plants if Iran doesn’t comply with U.S. negotiations. He doubled down on these threats this week, saying on Wednesday that the U.S. will destroy one power plant or bridge for every time Iran “shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The U.S. has already been bombing civilian infrastructure in Iran in its latest round of attacks. Data compiled by conflict monitor Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) finds that the U.S. has struck or damaged at least 21 civilian facilities across Iran in July. This includes attacks on bridges, railways, water facilities, food and agricultural sites, and telecommunications infrastructure.
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At least three water infrastructure sites have been struck so far, according to the ACLED data, MS NOW reports. One of these sites was a water desalination plant in Bonji village on Iran’s southern coast, which has disrupted the drinking water supply of thousands of people.
Last week, local officials reported that the U.S. bombed power infrastructure in southern Iran, causing power outages.
International law prohibits militaries from deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, and the U.S. has been accused of committing war crimes as a result of Trump’s threats to power plants and bridges. The U.S. has denied these accusations, with an official saying “no we are not committing any war crimes” to MS NOW on Thursday.
Trump also said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday that the U.S. will “hold Iran responsible” for any strikes by the Houthis amid the group’s blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.
“Iran’s policy is an eye for an eye. The president’s policy is a head for an eye. They are going to suffer more,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Thursday.
Echoing Trump, Rubio said that Iran is “begging us” to strike a deal, but Iranian leaders are always seeking to change the negotiation terms or “breaking” the deal.
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