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Saturday, 5 September 2026dailybeirut.com
World
US President Donald Trump revealed early Wednesday the outlines of his military plan for the coming days of the war his forces are waging against Iran, stating he will postpone striking energy targets but they will eventually be a target, and that next week will be very bad for Iran unless they sit at the negotiating table.
US President Donald Trump revealed early Wednesday the outlines of his military plan for the coming days of the war his forces are waging against Iran.
Trump said, in an interview with Fox News, that he will postpone striking energy targets until the end, but they will be a target for his forces in the final outcome.
He continued: We may target Iran's oil at a later stage if we are forced to. I ordered not to strike Iran's oil facilities to avoid impacting the global economy.
He added: Next week will be very bad for Iran. The turn of power plants will come, the turn of bridges will come, unless they sit at the negotiating table.
He added: We will continue until I decide that the time has come. We have weapons capable of reaching great depths and we are monitoring the Iranian Mount Axe site with cameras.
Trump continued: We are monitoring the Mount Axe site after receiving information about activity there, and if Iran takes any move, we will respond immediately.
The US President claimed that Iran was two weeks away from possessing a nuclear weapon and that without bombing its nuclear sites, that would not have been prevented.
Trump revealed, during the interview, that American negotiators held discussions with their Iranian counterparts to inform them that it is better for them to reach an agreement.
All this coincided with the US Army launching harsh strikes on Iran, which Trump himself announced during the interview, confirming that the bombing will continue tomorrow night and the night after tomorrow.
Iranian sources reported, in parallel, clashes and an exchange of fire in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf between American and Iranian forces.
The Mehr News Agency mentioned that an exchange of fire occurred in the waters of the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz, and that the sound of explosions was heard in the marine area of Hormozgan, explaining that sounds of explosions heard east of Sirik are linked to an exchange of fire and clashes.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced, on Wednesday, in a statement broadcast by official television, that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until American aggressive actions stop, threatening to close other strategic export routes.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, in an interview with official television, that if America thinks that intensifying its measures against us, its military operations, and its economic siege will bring us back to negotiations, it is mistaken.
The US Central Command said, on Tuesday, that Iran attacked 7 commercial ships during the past week, resulting in the death, loss, or injury of more than 10 civilian crew members.
With tensions escalating, Trump proposed, on Monday, the idea of imposing a 20% fee on shipping through the strait, which sparked sharp criticism from the United Nations shipping agency and others.
On Tuesday, Trump backed away from the idea, and said, without going into details, that he would instead seek to conclude investment agreements with Gulf states.
The naval blockade imposed on ships sailing to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas came back into effect at 2000 GMT after being lifted in June.
Trump said the strait will be open to navigation except for Iranian navigation. The US Army reported that there are more than 20 US Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft currently operating in the region.
