Trump stood before the press on Monday and said that by midnight of the next day, every bridge in Iran would be destroyed. Power plants would burn, explode, never be used again. He has a plan. The strength of the military makes it possible. Four hours would be enough for that. The deadline expires at 8 PM local time in Washington.
"The entire country could be wiped out in a single night. And that night could already be tomorrow."
When asked whether civilian targets were excluded, Trump did not answer.
When asked whether he was committing war crimes, he said it does not concern him at all. He hopes he will not have to do it.
UN Secretary General António Guterres had his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric convey that attacks on civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law, even if individual facilities could be classified as military targets - as long as the risk to the civilian population is disproportionate. Whether such attacks constitute war crimes must be decided by a court.
Trump asked no one further.
He also claimed that Iranian civilians had told American intelligence through intercepted communications that they should keep bombing. Please, come back, come back - that is how they supposedly phrased it. Trump said these are people who live where the bombs fall.
Many in Tehran have been taking sleeping pills for weeks to get through the nights. They are asking the world to stop the war.
Both statements exist at the same time. Trump decided which one he believes.
Trump began the press conference by describing the rescue of two downed American crew members. The F 15E fighter aircraft had been hit by a shoulder launched heat seeking missile that was sucked into an engine. The weapons officer, heavily bleeding, climbed through mountainous terrain, stayed hidden, and eventually activated his emergency beacon. The first message he sent: God is good. 155 aircraft were involved in the rescue, including four bombers, 64 fighter jets, 48 tanker aircraft, and 13 rescue aircraft. A large part of the operation was deception maneuvers to send the Iranians in the wrong direction.
General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that an A 10 Thunderbolt aircraft was hit by Iranian forces during the rescue operation while protecting the downed pilot. The pilot kept fighting, fulfilled his mission, flew after the hit into a friendly country, and decided there to eject. He was safely recovered.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said that the most advanced intelligence technology, which no other intelligence service in the world possesses, had located the pilot. At the same time, the CIA conducted a deception operation to mislead the Iranian search. The search had been comparable to looking for a single grain of sand in a desert.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the coordination call during the mission lasted 45 hours and 56 minutes, uninterrupted, in a secure building. The mission had been relentless. Planning had never stopped. He then compared the story of the rescued pilot with Easter - shot down on Good Friday, hidden in a cave on Saturday, rescued and returned home on Easter Sunday. Hegseth added: death from above, directed at every Iranian soldier who had dared to approach the pilot.
Trump also threatened a journalist with prison who had first reported on the shootdown. The report had warned the Iranians and endangered the pilot’s life, Trump said. Anyone who does not name the source will go to prison.
Donald Trump threatened to take action against the media company that reported on the missing second crew member. "We will go to the media company that published that, and we will say: national security - hand it over or go to prison."
Trump also said that not all members of the military had supported the rescue operation. There had been military personnel who said one simply does not do something like that. Hegseth and General Caine had fully supported it.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a written statement on social media and offered condolences for the death of intelligence chief Majid Khademi. He described him as part of a steadfast line of fighters and warriors who had sacrificed their lives. Khamenei has not appeared in public since his appointment as Supreme Leader.
Israel’s military said that battle plans for the next three weeks have been approved, in case no ceasefire is reached. Brigadier General Effie Defrin said that harder strikes are being carried out every day. They have already achieved very good results and want to achieve excellent ones.
The deadline expires in hours.
The UN chief has warned. The Red Cross has warned. The President of the European Council has warned. All have warned.
Trump said he hopes he will not have to do it.
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