President Donald Trump has threatened to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant any time its forces attack a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, as the US launched a 12th consecutive night of strikes against Iranian military targets.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said potential targets would include those “located next to, or in,” the capital Tehran. The military response would follow any form of attack on shipping in the vital waterway, “whether it be by missile, rocket, drone, or any other device or weapon”.
“Trump threatens to bomb Iranian bridges and power plants after each Hormuz attack as US strikes enter 12th night.”
The threat came after the US launched strikes on Iran for the 11th consecutive night, with Iranian state media reporting air defences activated in Tehran and explosions in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak and Bushehr — home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant. The Houthis, the Iran-backed militant group in Yemen, said they carried out missile and drone strikes on Wednesday on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea after declaring a maritime embargo on the kingdom. A Houthi statement posted on Telegram said they “carried out a qualitative military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that violated the blockade”, naming the vessels as the Encelia and the Layla.
Kuwait’s army said its air defences engaged with drone attacks from Iran, while Bahrain and Jordan said they intercepted drone and missile strikes. The price of oil jumped to $94 on Wednesday.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned on Wednesday evening: “The equation of this war is clear: either all or none! 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. We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to pre-war conditions.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would “defend” ships going through the straits getting “blown up”. He added US officials were “open to diplomacy” but Iran did not seem serious about that.
Meanwhile, the US signed a landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium. The US Department of Energy said its secretary and his Saudi counterpart signed a “peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement” along with a “bilateral safeguards agreement”.
In Manila, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband — making his international debut after Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s appointment of him sparked anger from the Trump administration — called for calm. Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ summit, he said the UK would “work intensively with others to seek to de-escalate this conflict and find a diplomatic way forward”. Miliband added that any solution “must include reopening the Strait of Hormuz and upholding the fundamental principle of freedom of navigation”. He welcomed a memorandum of understanding signed in June between the US and Iran that included a deal for toll-free passage through the strait for 60 days, but noted that efforts to honour the deal stalled when Iran targeted tankers earlier this month.
The White House is said to be “deeply concerned” about Miliband’s appointment, with Trump not forgetting the former Labour leader’s past remarks calling him “a racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper”. Miliband is expected to meet Rubio on the sidelines of the summit.