President Trump is refusing to say whether he believes blowing up bridges and power plants in Iran would be considered a war crime.
Mr. Trump declined to explain his thinking on the subject during an Oval Office event about progress in reviving nuclear power in the U.S.
“I won’t respond to that question,” Mr. Trump said Friday.
Mr. Trump instead criticized the outlet of the reporter who asked the question, The New York Times, calling it a “failing” enterprise.
The Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians such as infrastructure, agricultural areas and water supplies. But they say some infrastructure used by civilians can also be a military target. That infrastructure is “objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action” and whose destruction or capture “offers a definite military advantage.”
The president said there are two exit strategies from the U.S.-Iran war. The first involves “knocking out everything they have,” while the second involves striking a diplomatic deal.
“They want to make a deal, I just don’t think they’re ready yet,” Mr. Trump said. “Sometimes they want to say they don’t want to make a deal, they want to be the tough guys.”
“You can just keep doing exactly what we’re doing and take ‘em apart piece by piece. Want do it in a more rapid fashion, which we might do,” Mr. Trump said. “Or we can negotiate with them, which we’ve also been doing right now.”
Mr. Trump said the U.S. is “locked and loaded,” but his envoys are in constant contact with Iranian officials.
“We are talking right now, and we’ll see what comes out of it,” Mr. Trump said. “I’m not in a hurry. We have to do it right.”
Earlier this week, the president threatened to escalate America’s bombing of Iran if its forces continue to interfere with commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Critics of Mr. Trump’s approach to the war in Iran say targeting civilian infrastructure would amount to a war crime.
U.S. Central Command says its recent bombing targets have been military sites that are responsible for harassing commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway between Iran and Oman.
Mr. Trump launched the conflict against Iran on Feb. 28 to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
Iran responded by clamping down on shipping in the strait, leading to cycles of attacks and peace negotiations.
