White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump “is not making anything up” as he offers varying justifications for launching the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday would be the most intense day yet of U.S. strikes inside Iran as the Islamic Republic, its firepower diminished, vowed to fight on.
Watch the White House briefing in our video player above.
The U.S. stock market and oil prices were holding relatively steady Tuesday after Trump’s signals about how long the war could last caused wild swings in financial and fuel markets.
Leavitt said in Tuesday’s White House briefing that U.S. troop injuries in the Iran war are “in the ballpark” of 150. As she was speaking, the Pentagon announced that about 140 American troops have been injured in the 10 days of conflict, claiming the “vast majority” have been minor.
The new figure is the first insight into the broader toll of injuries that have been sustained by U.S. troops in the wake of a barrage of retaliatory rocket and drone strikes from Iran that have also claimed the lives of seven soldiers in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Leavitt was also asked about a social media post by Energy Secretary Chris Wright claiming that the U.S. Navy had helped an oil tanker the Strait of Hormuz. Wright took the post down moments after putting it up.
Leavitt said the post was false.
“I can confirm that the U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time, though of course that’s an option,” Leavitt told reporters.
WATCH: Trump says U.S. Navy will escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz ‘if needed’
Leavitt said she had not had a chance to talk to the energy secretary about the misleading post that triggered a reaction in the energy markets. But she added that “the post was taken down pretty quickly.”
The prospect of military escorts could open up the strait for key oil and natural gas shipments, helping to reduce price pressures created by the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran.
