The Pentagon is expanding the list of Iranian energy facilities it can target for attacks to include those that provide fuel and power to both civilians and the military. This is a likely solution if the administration is charged with war crimes for attacking key infrastructure, writes "Politico".
Military planners are reviewing the list as US and Israeli warplanes search for new targets after five weeks of round-the-clock strikes on military sites and US ground troops are invading the region, two defense officials said. The dual purpose of the targets would make them legitimate.
President Donald Trump finds himself in an increasingly difficult position as the United States runs out of strategically important targets to attack in Iran and the regime in Tehran strangles the global economy with its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for the world’s oil. Trump could send in ground troops and open the door to a protracted war, which is unpopular with the American public. Or he could attack civilian infrastructure – in violation of international law – and face charges of war crimes. The new option, which Israel is also using, could offer a way out.
Yesterday, Trump threatened a situation “where every bridge in Iran will be destroyed by 12:00 tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be taken out of service, burned, exploded, and never used again.”
But Pentagon officials are debating whether that justification is valid, a third official said. Tensions are swirling over where to draw the line between military and civilian targets, such as water desalination plants, which could be considered targets because the military also needs drinking water.
Trump threatened to launch infrastructure strikes tonight if the Iranians do not reach a deal with the United States by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. The United States alone has struck more than 13,000 targets in Iran.
"It is the Pentagon's job to make preparations to give the commander in chief maximum latitude," said White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt. "This does not mean that the president has made a decision. The Iranian regime has until 8 p.m. to make a deal with the United States. If they fail to do so, the president will take them back to the Stone Age, just as he promised," she explained.
During a press conference yesterday about the Iran war, Trump said that the Iranian people would welcome strikes on energy infrastructure. They "would be willing to take that to have freedom," he stressed. "They want us to keep bombing".
The US-Israeli bombing campaign has largely spared the country's electricity and fuel supplies. As frustration in the White House has grown over Iran's refusal to capitulate - at least publicly - to the somewhat vague US demands, however, the list of targets has grown.
At the annual Easter event at the White House earlier yesterday, Trump said he was "not worried" about bombing civilian power plants and that Iran had committed war crimes.
"Do you know what a war crime is? Having a nuclear weapon," he said. "To allow a sick country with a deranged leadership to possess nuclear weapons is a war crime".
The Geneva Convention, which defines international humanitarian law, allows for discretion when strike sites are used by both military and civilian populations.
"Before targets are approved, they must undergo operational legal review," explained Sean Timmons, a former judge advocate general of the Army. "Some civilian infrastructure, if used simultaneously by the military, may be a legitimate target under the laws of war. People's concerns that this will become excessive are legitimate, but there are checks and balances."
Last year, however, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all but closed the Pentagon offices that help with military strikes and preventing civilian casualties, which could mean less oversight of such issues.
Instead, Hegseth chose to reduce the number of staff working on the issue from 200 to fewer than 40. The reduced staff helps military commanders select targets that would spare civilian lives and investigate strikes after they occur to better protect civilians in the future.
Last month, Hegseth announced that he would further reduce the number of lawyers who advise commanders on the legality of operations, known as judge advocates general. He fired lawyers from the Army, Navy and Air Force in the early days of the administration.
But Timmons also noted that Trump has repeatedly called on the Iranian people to help overthrow the regime’s leaders. Attacks on key civilian support facilities could work against that goal.
"If your goal is truly to reduce their military capabilities, then indiscriminate bombing would only prolong the suffering of individuals," he said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations sharply criticized Trump's threats to attack infrastructure targets as "reckless, dangerous, and indicative of a mindset that shows indifference to human life and contempt for religious beliefs."