Trump plans broader Iran strikes after Strait of Hormuz blockade move

Left-leaning coverage is carrying the whole story while right-leaning outlets had not covered it as of publication, so readers relying on the silent side would miss both the military escalation and Trump’s own threats. Axios leads with a Situation Room meeting on a “massive offensive in Iran,” saying sources described plans for “devastating” strikes beyond the Strait of Hormuz; it names the officials in the room, reports the White House declined comment, and quotes Trump saying, “Next week comes the power plants” and “We’re gonna knock out all their bridges.” NBC’s short video write-up also says Trump warned the U.S. will strike “civilian infrastructure including energy targets,” but it lacks Axios’ details about the meeting, Pickaxe Mountain, the named advisers, and the quoted bridge threat. NPR, by contrast, frames the same crisis as a “standoff” and “deadlock” over the strait, emphasizing Iran’s threat to close “other oil and gas export routes,” the possible Bab al-Mandab angle, the 20% cargo-fee reversal, Kpler’s count of 21 ships transiting Tuesday, and 56 confirmed incidents with 17 seafarer fatalities — details absent from Axios and NBC. Axios alone says the U.S. coordinated transit of 300 ships through the strait over the past week and that Trump’s goal is to force Iran to open the strait and accept his nuclear demands. None of the accounts answers the most concrete question raised by Trump’s threat: what legal authority and targeting limits would govern U.S. strikes on power plants, bridges, or other civilian infrastructure?