Trump threatens to bomb Iranian bridge or power plant after Hormuz attacks

US President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Tehran attacks a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating Washington’s response as the conflict spread across the region and placed another major shipping route at risk. The warning came hours before Trump was due to attend the return of four US service members killed in Iranian attacks and related operations in Jordan and Iraq. “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 in a social media post. The warning revived his earlier threat to retaliate against Iranian attacks by striking infrastructure and came after an 11th consecutive night of US air strikes on the country. The US Central Command said its latest operations targeted Iranian military command centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and logistics infrastructure, as Washington sought to weaken Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the strait. Iranian media reported explosions in several provinces, including near Tabriz in northwestern Iran, an area not previously known to have been targeted during the latest round of fighting. Air defences were also activated over Tehran. Iran’s Health Ministry said the 11 days of American strikes had killed 53 people, including six women and three children, and wounded nearly 600. Tehran, meanwhile, launched missiles and drones towards Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, underscoring the risk that the fighting could draw additional countries into the conflict. Jordan’s military said it intercepted four Iranian missiles over the southern port city of Aqaba, across the border from Israel’s Eilat, while two others landed in uninhabited areas. Jordanian forces also intercepted four drones. Missile warnings were issued in Bahrain, while residents of the Saudi city of Dammam were briefly told to seek shelter. Saudi authorities later said the threat had passed without providing further details. Trump was scheduled to travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday morning for the dignified transfer of the four service members’ remains, the White House said. It will be the third such ceremony he has attended since launching the war against Iran in February. Two of the soldiers, Tyler James Feehan, 25, and Isabella Gonzales, 19, were killed in an Iranian missile and drone attack in Jordan. A third, Angel S. Rampersad, 28, was initially reported missing after the attack but is now believed to have been killed. The fourth, Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, died in Iraq during the controlled detonation of an Iranian drone. “I’ll be going to Dover for something that I feel is – it’s a great honour for me to do it,” Trump said at the White House on Tuesday. Iran has largely refrained from attacking Israel since hostilities resumed last month, apparently seeking to prevent it from re-entering the war. But Wednesday’s attack on Aqaba, which lies within sight of Eilat, raised the prospect of a broader escalation. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its retaliatory operations would continue, according to official media. The conflict has increasingly centred on control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of globally traded oil and gas passed before the fighting disrupted commercial traffic. Washington has demanded that Tehran reopen the waterway and stop attacking commercial vessels, while Iran has resisted US efforts to dictate passage through the strait. The disruption has pushed up energy prices and added to concerns about renewed inflation. Brent crude rose nearly 3 per cent on Wednesday to approach US$94 a barrel, while rising fuel prices have become an increasingly sensitive political issue for Trump ahead of the US midterm elections in November. Washington has also reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s attacks in the strait. The threat to international shipping expanded further on Wednesday after Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen warned that vessels calling at Saudi ports could be targeted. The Joint Maritime Information Centre, which monitors security threats to commercial shipping, said the group appeared prepared to resume maritime attacks from areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. A sustained Houthi campaign could place a second critical trade route at risk just as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz forces energy shipments onto longer and more expensive routes. Diplomatic efforts have shown little sign of progress. Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni travelled to Pakistan, one of the principal mediators alongside Qatar, but Tehran said the visit had produced only an exchange of messages rather than formal negotiations. Iran has accused the US of violating the interim agreement reached on June 17, which sought to halt the fighting and reopen the waterway while negotiations continued. Trump on Tuesday said Washington had “no interest in meeting” Iranian officials and suggested the US could next strike Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried construction site near Iran’s Natanz nuclear complex. The US bombed Natanz during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel last year, but Pickaxe Mountain was not struck. Washington and Israel suspect the underground site could be connected to Iran’s nuclear programme, although Tehran insists its activities are peaceful. Iran has warned that an attack on its nuclear facilities or other sensitive infrastructure would trigger a forceful response. “If we left tomorrow, we had a big, we had a big success,” Trump said on Tuesday. “But we’re not leaving tomorrow.”