Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, said on Tuesday (local time) that Tuesday would be the most intense day of attacks inside Iran as Iran vowed to retaliate, the AP reported.
Hegseth made these remarks at the Pentagon. Speaking to reporters, he said: “Today will be our most intensive day of attacks inside Iran again.” His statement came shortly after another statement in which he said Iran had fired the fewest missiles so far in the past 24 hours.
At the same briefing, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said US military operations against Iran had entered their 11th day.
“We break their bones”: Israeli prime minister
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “we are breaking their bones,” adding that the goal of this war is the popular overthrow of the Iranian government.
Netanyahu said the goal was to encourage Iranians to free themselves from what he described as an oppressive government, adding that such change ultimately rested with the Iranian people.
Iran is electing a new supreme leader
The development comes a day after Iran announced that a new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would take over after he was killed in an airstrike on February 28, the day the US and Israel targeted Iran’s military and naval forces.
US President Donald Trump has consistently maintained that the appointment of Khamenei’s son is “unacceptable” to him, adding that he would like to be involved in the process of appointing someone who could work with the US after “Iran’s unconditional surrender”.
Hours after Mojtaba’s appointment was announced, Trump said he was “not happy.”
Read also | How Asian nations cope with energy shortages amid Iran war
Iranian security official threatens Trump
According to an AP report, Iranian security official Ali Larijani threatened Trump, saying: “The sacrificial nation of Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Even those greater than you could not eliminate Iran. Be careful not to be eliminated yourself.”
Larijani’s remarks came after Trump threatened to attack Tehran “TWICE HARDER” if it stopped oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Read also | Iran offers Hormuz passage to Europe and the Arab states. But there is a catch
American-Israeli Iran War
The conflict in the Middle East has now escalated and entered its 11th day with no signs of abating. The US launched the strikes days after Washington and Tehran concluded a third round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program. The conflict has plunged the Persian Gulf region into a wider confrontation, with Iran retaliating against US military bases and Israel.
The conflict has sent shockwaves through the aviation sector, with hundreds of flights canceled over the past 11 days due to airspace restrictions in the Middle East. Additionally, global energy markets were sent into a tailspin after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, an arterial corridor in the Middle East that accounts for nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply.
On Monday, Trump indicated that the conflict may end soon; however, when it will actually be remains to be seen.
