US "Not Finished" with Iran, Trump Warns as Conflict Escalates Across West Asia

Washington DC/Tehran: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that Washington is "not finished" with its military campaign against Iran, as the United States carried out an eleventh consecutive night of airstrikes and Tehran expanded its attacks across the Gulf region.

Speaking at the White House, Trump claimed Iran would need "20 to 25 years" to recover from the damage inflicted during the conflict and warned that the US could soon target the underground Pickaxe Mountain nuclear complex near Natanz, which Western intelligence suspects is linked to uranium enrichment in Iran.

"We're not leaving right now," Trump said, adding that Iran could do nothing to stop a potential strike on the site.

The US military said the latest wave of strikes targeted military infrastructure to further reduce Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which about one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies once passed during peacetime.

Iran responded with fresh threats, warning that any attack on Pickaxe Mountain would mark a major escalation. The Khatam Al-Anbiya military command said such an operation would trigger strikes against "all the interests of America, its allies and supporters."

The conflict spread further across the region as Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan reported intercepting Iranian missiles and drones. Kuwait said its air defence systems engaged multiple drone attacks, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for strikes on US military facilities in Jordan and earlier attacks targeting American assets in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Trump also warned Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels after they threatened to blockade Saudi ports. "If something like that happens, we take care of it," he said, recalling previous US operations against the group.

Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a tanker off the coast of Oman was struck by an unidentified projectile. Iran's Revolutionary Guards later claimed two tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz had been hit, causing massive fires.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators that the war has now cost the United States $37.5 billion. Despite the ongoing hostilities, Iran said indirect diplomatic contacts with Washington, mediated by Pakistan, remain active.