[1 Daily Trump] 'To understand the world, you need to understand Trump.' The Herald Business international desk delivers a daily one-minute briefing on Trump issues via the [1 Daily Trump] newsletter and series.

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday (local time). [EPA]
US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday (local time). [EPA]

US President Donald Trump warned Tuesday (local time) that he would strike Iran's key infrastructure — including power plants and bridges — if a peace deal is not reached by next week.

Speaking in a Fox News interview, Trump said the United States is hitting Iran "very hard" and that the country "has to be hit." He added that if Iran does not come to the negotiating table, "we'll knock out all the power plants and we'll knock out all the bridges."

He also said airstrikes on Iran would continue "until I say stop."

CENTCOM carried out a fourth consecutive day of airstrikes Tuesday, targeting Iranian military facilities near the Strait of Hormuz, and also resumed a maritime blockade of Iran.

Trump compared the Iranian military to "a great boxer," saying it has been "substantially weakened" but still has the strength to fight.

Asked whether he would expand strikes to other targets such as energy facilities, Trump said he would broaden the scope of attacks, adding that energy facilities would be "saved for last" but would ultimately become targets.

However, he sidestepped a direct question about whether US ground troops could be deployed to seize Kharg Island — Iran's main oil export hub — saying, "I can't say that. That would be a foolish thing."

He left the door open nonetheless, saying, "Someday we might do that, but it's not very likely," and adding that the US would take that step "if we weaken them enough and push them back."

Trump also brought up what he called "Pickaxe Mountain" — a site in Iran believed to house underground nuclear facilities — as a potential target for further US strikes.

"We're watching every inch of Pickaxe Mountain," he said, adding that bunker-buster bombs — the same type used to strike Iran's underground nuclear facilities last year — could be deployed again.

Trump had also said Tuesday that the US would "take out" Pickaxe Mountain, telling Iranians to "get ready."

Asked when US representatives last spoke with Iran, Trump revealed that his envoys had in fact been in contact with Iranian representatives roughly an hour before the interview.

He said he had conveyed a message through US representatives warning Iran that it "better make a deal" or face being "obliterated so that nobody is left," though he added, "I don't know if they'll actually do it."


mokiya@heraldcorp.com