President Trump on Iran Strikes: The Big One is Coming Soon + IDF: 600 Iranian Targets Destroyed + IDF Marks Hezbollah Chief ”Target for Elimination” + France Ready to Defend Jordan & Gulf Nations Against Iran Attacks

Operation Epic Fury & Roaring Lion update for review:

1. US CJCS: “Our military objectives are clear,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters. “Our mission is to protect and defend ourselves, and together with our regional partners, prevent Iran from the ability to project power outside of its borders and be ready for follow on actions as appropriate.”

2. Three US F-15 fighter jets crashed over Kuwait on Monday after they were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses in a so-called friendly fire incident, the American military confirmed.

3. On Monday, President Trump laid out more specific goals for the operation — targeting Iran’s ballistic missiles, nuclear program, navy, and support for proxy groups — and said that the largest wave of strikes was still to come. He declined to rule out using ground troops and said that the campaign could last about four weeks.

“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon,” President Trump told CNN.

4. Israel said Monday that the head of Hezbollah’s intelligence arm was killed in an overnight strike and Beirut said it would ban the terror group’s military activities, hours after the Iran-backed organization fired rockets and drones at Israel, leading to major retaliatory strikes overnight and throughout Monday.

5. Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Aramco shut its Ras Tanura refinery after a drone strike caused a blaze, an industry source said on Monday, after Tehran launched strikes across the region in response to the US-Israeli attack on Iran.

A source familiar with the incident told AFP the blaze had already been extinguished.

6. An attack using at least two drones on the US embassy in Riyadh sparked a small fire, a Saudi defense ministry spokesman says in a statement, as Iran presses on with its campaign of retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.

“The US Embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones, according to initial assessments. 

7. Britain’s Royal Air Force base  in Cyprus was hit by a drone strike overnight, causing limited damage and no casualties, Cypriot authorities and the UK’s Ministry of Defense said early Monday.

8. France is “ready” to defend Gulf countries and Jordan against Iran if necessary, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Monday.

His remarks came as key European ally Germany also spoke of readiness to defend its interests against Iranian assaults.