On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned about further strikes to destroy bridges and electric power plants in Iran in his latest threat to hit the country’s infrastructure.
The U.S. military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants,” Trump wrote on social media.
His post said that Iran’s leadership “knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!”
On Wednesday, Trump, who has previously offered shifting timelines and objectives for the war, said in a televised speech that the war could escalate to strikes on Iran’s energy and oil infrastructure if Tehran did not accept Washington’s terms.
“We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,” Trump said in his Wednesday address.
While he stated that Washington was closer to its objectives in Iran, Trump did not specify a timeline to end the war.
U.S. Strikes Could Amount To War Crimes
Dozens of international law experts in the U.S. have signed an open letter that was released on Thursday, stating that the U.S. strikes on Iran may amount to war crimes.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians.
The Geneva Conventions and additional protocols say that parties involved in military conflict must distinguish between “civilian objects and military objectives,” and that attacks on civilian objects are forbidden.
The war began on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Tehran responded by launching its own attacks on Israel and its Gulf neighbours that host U.S. bases. Joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.
The war has also raised oil prices to unprecedented levels and shaken global energy markets. Trump’s mixed messages thus far have not eased concerns over his country’s biggest military attacks since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
(With inputs from Reuters)
