DUBAI: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday would be the most intense day yet of US strikes inside Iran. The Islamic Republic, its firepower diminished, vowed to fight on. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war’s aim is a popular overthrow of Iran’s government, and “we are breaking their bones”. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said US President Donald Trump “is not making anything up” as he offers varying justifications for launching the war.

The US stock market and oil prices were holding relatively steady on Tuesday after Trump’s signals about how long the war could last caused wild swings in financial and fuel markets. The Pentagon, meanwhile, offered its first tally of American wounded, saying about 140 US troops have been injured, eight severely.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf dismissed any suggestion of seeking a ceasefire, while another top Iranian security official, Ali Larijani, warned Trump himself, writing on X that “Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.”