US President Donald Trump yesterday said he was highly unlikely to order fresh attacks on Iran as long as talks to end the conflict progress, even as both countries reported that shipping had been hit in or near the Strait of Hormuz.
“It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement,” Trump told CNN in a phone interview. “The answer is, highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary.”
CNN did not specify exactly what it had asked Trump, who also said that if strikes resume, the US has identified potential infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges “that we can knock down in literally one hour.”
Trump had hinted at renewing major attacks on Iran after last week’s US midterm elections, but there has been no sign of a large-scale US military operation.
The US said its air force had disabled a vessel in the Gulf of Oman beyond the strait.
Tasnim news agency said two missiles had struck Qeshm Island, with no official information on possible damage. Neither Iran nor the US has commented on that report. Washington said on November 2 that it had struck the island in a limited defensive measure against Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets.
The US military said on Saturday evening that its air force had fired at the stern of a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman, disabling it as it tried to get through the blockade.
A conflict between Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia has escalated this month, enlarging the wider Middle East war.
Yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said an administrative building belonging to state oil company Saudi Aramco in Riyadh had been damaged by falling debris after an attempted attack, with no injuries or fatalities reported.
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