Trump says Iran will pay — what it takes to end the war remains unclear

By Fox News · Fox News

Nearly five months after launching a sweeping campaign against Iran’s nuclear, missile, naval and proxy capabilities, the Trump administration is now fighting to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while negotiations have yet to produce a permanent settlement. The administration says its renewed strikes have a clear immediate objective: "making Iran pay." Less clear is what Iran must do to end the strikes — or what conditions would allow the U.S. to step back from a growing military commitment in the region. President Donald Trump has threatened to expand the campaign to Iran’s nuclear sites, bridges, power plants and other infrastructure. ARMY IDS 2 VICTIMS KILLED IN JORDAN AIR BASE ATTACK; TRUMP: IRAN WILL PAY 'MANY TIMES OVER' In response to questioning on the end goals in Iran, a U.S. official said: "Right now, the President is focused on making Iran pay for their violations of the MOU and their continued acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz," referring to the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States. "In addition, the president will make Iran pay for the recent deaths of U.S. soldiers," the official said. "These devastating blows will continue until the president deems otherwise, but talks between our countries are continuing," the official said. "President Trump has all of the cards and all options at his disposal, and Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon ." The response defined the immediate campaign as punishment for Iran’s actions but did not identify any condition Tehran could meet to halt the strikes beyond Trump deciding that the punishment had been sufficient. Follow-up questioning by Fox News Digital went unanswered. STEVE FORBES URGES TRUMP TO KEEP THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ OPEN AT ALL COSTS When Trump launched its military Operation Epic Fury mission on February 28, the White House laid out four sweeping objectives: preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon , destroying its ballistic missiles and production capacity, annihilat…