US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio jointly announced that the most intense phase of military engagement against Iran has not yet been carried out. Trump told media: "we haven't hit them seriously yet" and confirmed that follow-up operations will continue.

Rubio similarly confirmed these statements, saying "the hardest strikes are still to come" and declining to reveal tactical details of the planned operations. The Secretary of State justified the current strikes against Iran as a preventive measure, arguing that if they had not been carried out, American forces would have suffered greater losses.

Rubio separately stated that Washington had anticipated the Israeli action would trigger an Iranian response, which is why they chose to act pre-emptively. The Iranian foreign minister responded with accusations that the US entered the war exclusively because of Israel.

The military campaign already has economic consequences in 13 countries — oil prices, natural gas and gold are rising, and global stock markets are recording falls. The region and the world are bracing for a new escalation of unknown magnitude.