Israel hits new targets in Iran

President Trump said the US would destroy Iranian energy sites if discussions with a “new, and more reasonable regime” didn’t amount to a deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The President posted the comments on social media after Iran said it considered the US’s 15-point peace plan to be largely made up of “excessive, unrealistic and unreasonable demands.” The White House also hinted at the possibility that Trump would call on Arab leaders to cover the cost of the war in Iran.

The Israeli military said it struck military sites at Tehran’s Imam Hossein University and near the Caspian Sea. Israel’s largest oil refinery was hit by an Iranian missile, while a military airbase in the Baghdad International Airport complex was struck with rockets.

Three United Nations peacekeepers were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to expand a so-called security zone inside southern Lebanon.

More than a month into the war, here are some numbers: 3,000 people have been killed, 4 million have been displaced and oil prices have surged by 50%. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that President Trump is seeking a diplomatic resolution but insists Iran abandon its nuclear and missile programs. 

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Rubio said indirect communications between the two sides are ongoing through intermediaries, though Tehran has denied any talks. “[Trump] always prefers diplomacy, always prefers an outcome…and we could have done this before,” Rubio said.

Trump has publicly ruled out a prolonged war. Rubio suggested the administration remains open to political change in Tehran, saying the U.S. would welcome leadership with a “different view of the future.”

Rubio also renewed accusations that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons to “threaten and blackmail the world,” a claim Iran denies. He said any future Iranian nuclear capability must not allow rapid weaponization.

Rubio said the administration expects to achieve its military objectives within weeks, including degrading Iran’s air and naval forces and targeting weapons production facilities.

It is still unclear if it is even possible for a deescalation to occur, and whether the US, Israel and Iran have objectives that are too far apart to reconcile. Still, domestic pressure might force President Trump to end the war and declare victory sometime soon. But as we have seen, nothing can be predicted with certainty in this war.