Trump Holds Situation Room Meeting on Wider Iran Offensive

According to Axios, President Trump held a Situation Room meeting Tuesday to discuss plans for a major offensive in Iran that sources said would be broader than the current U.S. strikes around the Strait of Hormuz. Axios reported the U.S. military carried out strikes in the strait area and along Iran’s southern coast for a fourth straight day, targeting air defenses and radar systems, anti-ship missile positions, and drone launch sites, while U.S. officials said the goal was to degrade Iran’s ability to attack ships transiting the strait. Iran continued retaliatory missile and drone launches at U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports took effect Tuesday afternoon; U.S. officials also said the military coordinated the transit of 300 ships through the strait over the past week. In a Fox News interview before the meeting, Trump said strikes would expand over the next three days and warned of potential attacks on power plants and bridges next week unless Iran negotiates; he also said U.S. negotiators spoke with Iranian officials Tuesday.