The U.S. is sending more refueling planes to Israel ahead of a potential expansion of operations in Iran, according to a new report.
Axios detailed that President Donald Trump is considering the possibility as the U.S. already escalates attacks against Iranian infrastructure. Concretely, forces targeted bridges, energy sites and a tower at a key Iranian port over the past hours.
The strikes appear to seek to cut off Iran's main port, Bandar Abbas, from roads leading to the central region of Iran, as well as Tehran. The AP noted that other routes remain open, but the U.S. could expand the strikes as well.
Iran, in turn, retaliated with missile launches against U.S. allies in the region. The Associated Press noted that Tehran hit a desalination plan in Kuwait.
The outlet noted that further options being considered are bombing power plants, more attacks against nuclear facilities to bury the country's enriched uranium further and bombing Pickaxe Mountain, suspected to be a new facility under construction.
Trump has not made a final decision but could order an escalation in the next days, U.S. and Israeli officials told the outlet. He said in a prime time speech on Thursday that military actions are yielding results. "We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly," he said.
Tehran acknowledged hits to "power infrastructure" for the first time on Friday, leading the country's Energy Ministry to call on people to use less power in the country's southern provinces.
Trump had anticipated his willingness earlier this week to strike key Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not return to negotiating.
Speaking to Fox News' Trey Ingst, Trump said "next week it gets really bad for them." "Next week comes the power plants, next week comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all of their power plants. We'll knock out all of their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate," he said.
Iran, in turn, vowed to "crush" targets in the Middle East if the U.S. follows through on Trump's threat.
Concretely, a spokesperson for Iran's top military command said that "everything that is still intact," making reference to "all the infrastructure in the region, will be crushed under the steel blows of the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran; so that no trace of them remains and it is as if they never existed in the first place."
