President Donald Trump stated Wednesday that the United States will destroy one bridge or power plant in Iran for every attack carried out against a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
“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 said in a social media post.
The threat comes amid ongoing military exchanges and disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, a key international passage for global energy supplies that has faced closures due to attacks.
The U.S. military reported completing an 11th night of strikes against targets in Iran, focusing on aircraft hangars and drone storage sites. Iranian state media reported explosions across multiple provinces, and Iran’s Health Ministry reported that U.S. strikes over the past 11 days have resulted in 53 deaths and nearly 600 injuries. Meanwhile, the U.S. has reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard stated that its retaliatory attacks would continue, while international energy markets experienced price increases, with benchmark Brent crude rising to around $94 a barrel. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated during a Senate hearing that U.S. military expenditures for the conflict have reached $37.5 billion so far.
In regional developments, Jordan’s military reported intercepting four Iranian missiles and four drones over Aqaba, with two additional missiles landing in uninhabited areas. Missile alerts were also issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Both nations have targeted infrastructure during the conflict. Iran has directed strikes toward energy and desalination facilities in neighboring Gulf countries. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the targeting of civilian infrastructure on Tuesday, calling such actions “unacceptable.”
Diplomatic engagement remains limited. Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni traveled to Pakistan to discuss potential diplomatic options, and Iranian Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Zeinivand noted that messages were still being exchanged. However, speaking from the Oval Office, Trump stated that the U.S. currently had “no interest in meeting.” Trump also referenced the possibility of future strikes on Pickaxe Mountain, an underground Iranian nuclear facility located near the Natanz enrichment site.
During a regional summit in the Philippines, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the U.S. position regarding the waterway. “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,” Rubio said.
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