New US Strikes on Iran Begin in Night Hours
The United States has begun a new round of airstrikes in Iran in the night time and early morning hours (local), according to a senior US official to Axios. The extent of the bombings, or whether they will be sustained, remains unclear:
Trump “is in an escalatory mood” but is still contemplating “the depth of that response.”, A senior administration official says - WSJ
Trump is apparently making good on his earlier Wednesday threat:
President Trump has told Fox News that he is "going to beat the fucking shit" out of Iran in response to their attack on US forces in Jordan overnight. Speaking to Trey Yingst, he added "we'll be hitting them hard, they're going to get a beating."
There was heavy US refueler activity in regional skies just ahead of the strikes' commencement - as well as unconfirmed reports of explosions at Riyadh's international airport, but the cause has remained subject to speculation.
But with each attack on Iran, its forces tend to respond in kind against Gulf countries hosting US assets and bases. It is going to be a long night for the region, especially while bracing for the IRGC's inevitable response.
Details of Trump-Netanyahu Meeting at Oval Finally Emerging
After on Tuesday President Trump hosted both Zelensky and Netanyahu in the Oval Office there were no big press conferences or readouts given. But on Wednesday some key statements have begun to emerge concerning what was discussed, but at this point only offered via the Israeli side...
To be expected, Iran and the nuclear question dominated the discussions, according to i24's Ariel Oseran, with Israeli officials describing a White House focused on three possible paths forward. "Trump is weighing three options: a nuclear deal, maintaining and intensifying the economic blockade, or renewed military strikes," one official said, adding, "We didn't tell Trump Israel's preference is a strike. Our preference is the outcome. The decision is ultimately his."
...talk about stating the obvious. But Israeli still maintains that the situation is at tipping point inside Iran, which according to more independent 'realist' analysts seems highly dubious.
Israeli officials argued that Tehran is under mounting internal strain. "Iran is under severe economic pressure" due to fuel and diesel shortages, roughly 90% inflation, and "the beginning of public protests." They added, "We discussed increasing pressure on Iran, both economically and kinetically."
On Iran's leadership, officials said, "We know for certain Mujtaba is alive, but since Operation Rising Lion no one has seen him." Regarding Iran's military capabilities, they claimed, "Iran now has only 1,500–1,600 missiles left after we destroyed much of its production capability."
Expletives fly and Trump talks 'tough' - but this whole gambit has been a bombing campaign in search of a strategy...
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