Iran…Trump….Midday…3/7/2026…Trump ‘Saving’ Iran by Destroying it?

The United States launched more than 90 strikes on Kharg Island, the oil export hub, early Tuesday. A U.S. military official characterized them as “restrikes” — hitting targets that have been struck before to ensure more damage. He said that the United States was not yet targeting Iranian oil infrastructure on the island, which lies in the Persian Gulf off the country’s southern coast.

The United States and Israel both stepped up their attacks ahead of the 8 p.m. Eastern deadline Mr. Trump had set for Iran to allow unimpeded shipping through the strait, a key oil and gas shipping route. He issued his grave warning on social media as U.S. forces struck Kharg as part of a broader effort to force Iran to make a deal, according to American and Israel officials with knowledge of the operations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” the American president wrote, adding that he hoped “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen” to avoid the attacks. “We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World.”

On Monday, the president said at a news conference that if Iran did not end its effective blockade of the strait, every bridge in the country would be “decimated,” and every power plant would be “out of business.”

Striking civilian infrastructure could be a war crime under international law. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the Iranian military, has said that Iran would retaliate “crushingly and extensively” if its civilian infrastructure were attacked.

Iranians were bracing for the possibility of more strikes, while others were responding to the American threats with a mix of indifference, defiance, and bewilderment. Some Iranians on Tuesday formed human chains along bridges and around power plants across the country, videos and photographs posted by state and other local media showed. It’s unclear whether the demonstrations were spontaneous or planned by the government.

The Israeli military said it had launched airstrikes on eight bridges across Iran, and warned Iranians not to ride railroads until 9 p.m. local time. Iranian state media reported that at least three people were killed when a railway bridge was hit in the central city of Kashan.

Iran targeted energy facilities in Persian Gulf countries allied with the United States. Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said that debris from an intercepted missile had fallen near energy facilities in the east and that the damage was being assessed. The United Arab Emirates’ defense ministry said missiles and drones had been fired from Iran.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• Strait of Hormuz: Britain is hosting a virtual meeting on Tuesday of military planners from more than 40 countries about how to secure safe passage through the waterway after the war ends.

• Death tolls: The Human Rights Activists News Agency said at least 1,606 civilians, including 244 children, had been killed in Iran as of Friday. Lebanon’s health ministry on Thursday said more than 1,500 people had been killed in the latest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. In attacks blamed on Iran, at least 50 people have been killed in Gulf nations. In Israel, at least 20 people had been killed as of Monday. The American death toll stands at 13 service members, with hundreds of others wounded.