Trump says we're 'blowing up the whole country' if Iran doesn't make deal in 48 hours
Two C-130 aircraft were lost during the operation, an official said.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
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Key Headlines
'If Iran is wise, they will cut a deal,' Hegseth says
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned Iran it should cut a deal during a Pentagon press briefing Tuesday.
"If Iran is wise, they will cut a deal. President [Donald] Trump doesn't bluff and he does not back down. You can ask Khamenei about that," Hegseth said.
"President Trump will make a deal he is willing, and the terms of the deal are known to them. If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity," Hegseth said.
'Lowest number of enemy missiles and drones' fired by Iran in last 24 hours
Iran fired the "lowest number of enemy missiles and drones" in the last 24 hours as the U.S. and Israel continue to degrade its capabilities, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon press briefing Tuesday.
"They will go underground, but we will find them. We recently destroyed another one of their command bunkers. Leaders forced to flee, no water, no power, no oxygen, no command and control. Their faith in their caves diminishing," Hegseth said.
"The latest Intel is clear out of CENTCOM. Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to widespread desertions key personnel shortages, and causing frustrations amongst senior leaders," Hegseth said.
Trump tells countries to ‘take’ oil from Strait of Hormuz, says US won’t help
Amid continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump posted to social media on Tuesday telling other countries to either purchase U.S. oil or “build up some delayed courage” and “just TAKE IT” from the Strait.
“I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” he wrote on his social media platform. “Go get your own oil!”
“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” he added, echoing his past rhetoric where he has claimed that U.S. contributions to NATO have not been reciprocated.
In the social media post, Trump claimed that Iran had been “essentially, decimated.” In a second post, he said Iran had been “successfully eliminated.”
The president named the U.K. in his first post, whose leaders he has frequently criticized for their refusal to heed his calls for help. In his second post, he called France “VERY UNHELPFUL” for allegedly preventing planes with military supplies from flying over France en route to Israel.
-ABC News’ Emily Chang
4 Iranian prisoners executed since Sunday, opposition group says
Four jailed members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) have been executed since Sunday, the group said in a statement issued on Tuesday, with a spokesperson for the opposition group telling ABC News it fears an unfolding "massacre."
The PMOI said that members Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi were executed at the Ghezel Hesar Prison in the city of Karaj on Tuesday. Their deaths followed the executions of fellow PMOI members Mohammad Taghavi and Akbar Daneshvarkar on Sunday, the group said.
Shahin Gobadi, a spokesperson for the PMOI, said in a statement sent to ABC News, "The desperate regime is intent on a massacre of the political prisoners, focused on those who are affiliated with the PMOI, the main force of the organized resistance."
"The international community should take a firm stance and condemn these atrocious crimes and take immediate action to save the political prisoners, including those affiliated to the PMOI, and combatants on death row. The time has come to adopt practical and effective measures, such as closing the regime's embassies and expelling its terrorist diplomats and mercenaries," Gobadi said.