PRESIDENT Donald Trump has warned that the United States military will target Iran’s civilian infrastructure each time Tehran’s forces fire at a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
If the warning, issued on Wednesday, materialises, it would represent a major escalation in the conflict, which is already spiralling across the region.
“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, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump has previously said the US would bomb Iran’s bridges and power stations, going as far as threatening to wipe out the country’s civilisation, but Wednesday’s statement is more specific than his previous threats.
Majid Mousavi, head of the Aerospace Force in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), warned that if Iran’s power stations are hit, Tehran would retaliate against countries that host US troops.
“If our bridges and power plants are attacked, the power outage of the allies and hosts of the child killers is certain,” Mousavi said in a statement.
The US and Iran have been exchanging attacks for the past 12 days as the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was supposed to end the war between the two sides got derailed over the fate of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has claimed sovereignty over the strategic waterway, arguing that the MoU gives Iran the authority to manage the strait. The Trump administration, however, has insisted that the Hormuz must return to its status before the conflict as an international, free passageway.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, stressed on Wednesday that the “situation of the strait will not return to pre-war conditions”.
“In a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil. If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe, and the security of the strait is in the absence of American forces,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.
The hostilities restarted after ships that crossed the strait on the Omani side without coordinating with Iran were targeted.
The US military has been striking military targets in Iran as well as civilian ports and bridges, killing dozens. Tehran has retaliated with barrages of missiles and rockets on bases housing US troops across the region.
Iranian attacks have killed at least four service members in Jordan and Iraq this month and injured several others. Late on Tuesday, the Pentagon identified 28-year-old Angel Rampersad as the third fatality of an Iranian missile strike in Jordan. Rampersad was missing in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Trump is attended the arrival of the bodies of the service members in the US – known as dignified transfer – at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday.
He said Iran will “pay a big price” for killing US troops. “They’re getting decimated,” Trump said as he departed for the airbase.
Renewing the war has sent oil prices soaring once again after a brief reprieve during the ceasefire. The average price of one gallon (3.4 litres) of petrol in the US has surpassed $4 after dropping to around $3.80 from a high of $4.50 during the truce.