US President Donald Trump warned Thursday that the US will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s latest threat to target civilian infrastructure came as the unpopular war spirals with no clear offramp, threatening further worldwide economic disruption and sending fuel prices up ahead of midterm US elections this fall. Both sides have dug in on their dispute over the strait, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed because of Iranian attacks.
The US carried out another wave of strikes on Iran overnight into Thursday, and air defences opened fire over the capital, Tehran. Iran launched a missile attack on a Jordanian city on Israel’s doorstep, and alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
With negotiations largely stalled, both sides have sought leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure. Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants that provide drinking water in parched neighbouring Gulf countries.
International law generally prohibits such attacks unless the infrastructure is being used for military purposes. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decried such attacks as “unacceptable” on Tuesday.
The costs of war are mounting
The closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed during peacetime, has jolted the world economy with effects far beyond the Middle East. A new threat by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea puts another trade chokepoint at risk.
"From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT," Trump wrote on social media.
Trump travelled to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for the arrival of the remains of four U.S. service members. A day earlier, his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, estimated in a fiery Senate hearing that the US had spent US$37.5 billion (NZ$64.4 billion) on the war so far.
Benchmark Brent crude oil rose to more than US$93(NZ$159) a barrel in trading. That's up from less than US$72 (NZ$123) early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war. Gasoline prices are also climbing.
Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the strait, which was open to all and toll-free before the war. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by US forces and intended to be outside Tehran's control.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has led negotiations with the US, appeared to brush off Trump's threats.
"If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe, and the security of the strait is in the absence of American forces," he wrote on social media. "We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to prewar conditions."
Attacks shake Iran and Jordan
Jordan’s military said it intercepted four Iranian missiles over Aqaba, while two others fell in "uninhabited areas". Plumes of smoke could be seen overhead in videos filmed by people in the nearby Israeli city of Eilat. Jordan said it also intercepted four Iranian drones.
Iran has avoided striking Israel since hostilities resumed last month, apparently hoping to keep it from re-entering the war. But the attack on Aqaba, within sight of Israel’s Eilat, raised concerns over a further widening of the conflict after an agreement to halt hostilities collapsed.
Another missile alert sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia warned residents of the Persian Gulf city of Dammam to seek shelter. Saudi authorities later said the danger had passed, without elaborating.
The US military said earlier Wednesday that it had completed an 11th night of strikes on Iran, with targets including aircraft hangars and drone storage sites.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported explosions across several provinces. Iran's Health Ministry says US strikes over the past 11 days have killed 53 people, including six women and three children, and wounded nearly 600 people.
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted its retaliatory attacks would continue.
Diplomatic efforts show no signs of progress
Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, seeking to revive diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Zeinivand said “diplomacy isn’t called off” and that messages were still being exchanged, without elaborating, according to IRNA.
At a regional summit in the Philippines, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced Iran’s actions in the strait.
"If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region," he said.
In response to Iran’s attacks, the US re-imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
Trump signals US may attack underground nuclear site
Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the US had "no interest in meeting".
He signaled that US forces could soon target an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain.
The site, known as Pickaxe Mountain, lies on the south side of Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the US during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in 2025. But Pickaxe Mountain has remained untouched as Iran continues to dig at the site.
Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, while resuming the enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels since Trump scrapped a 2015 nuclear deal during his first term. The US and others believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program until 2003 and may reconstitute it in the future.
SHARE ME