Overview
- On Friday in the Oval Office President Trump declined to answer a New York Times reporter who asked whether striking Iranian bridges and power plants would be a war crime and then called the paper 'failing.'
- The exchange follows a Truth Social post from Trump saying the United States would 'bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT' for each attack on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Targeting civilian infrastructure is widely treated under international humanitarian law as potentially a war crime because it can cause large-scale civilian harm and lacks clear military necessity.
- The confrontation comes after recent U.S. military deaths in the region and after the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas to four New York Times journalists, sharpening tensions between the White House and the press.
- The episode increases the chance of legal and diplomatic backlash by raising questions about the administration’s targeting policy and could prompt scrutiny from allies, human rights groups, and international legal bodies.