US President Donald Trump convened a Situation Room meeting on Tuesday to discuss a wider offensive against Iran, going beyond the current strikes concentrated around the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Axios, which cited three sources with knowledge of the discussions, the meeting focused on new plans for devastating strikes on strategic targets inside Iran, in addition to the ongoing operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
The meeting came as Trump appeared willing to escalate the conflict to pressure Tehran into reopening the waterway and accepting his nuclear demands.
Trump was joined in the Situation Room by his top national security team, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House envoy Steve Witkoff, the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, Iran's armed forces, cited by state broadcaster IRIB, warned that oil and gas exports from West Asia would be "either for everyone or for no one," cautioning that other export routes could be shut.
The development came as the US military carried out strikes for a fourth consecutive day in the Strait of Hormuz area and along Iran's southern coast, aimed largely at air defence and radar systems, anti-ship missile positions and drone launch sites.
Iran retaliated with missiles and drones targeting US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain, even as a US naval blockade on Iranian ports took effect on Tuesday afternoon.
In an interview with Fox News before the meeting, Trump said strikes would intensify in the coming days. "Next week, it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We're gonna knock out all their power plants. We're gonna knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate," he said.
Trump also said the US was monitoring activity at Pickaxe Mountain, an underground site Washington and Israel believe is linked to Iran's nuclear programme, warning that American bunker-busters "can go deep" even as it remains unclear whether the facility is impervious to such strikes.
ALSO READ: Kuwait Refinery, US Infrastructure In Bahrain Hit As Iran Warns Hormuz To Stay Shut
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