Trump threatens Iran: ‘Any Hormuz attack will cost you a bridge or power plant’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (July 22) warned that the United States would launch strikes on critical infrastructure in and around Tehran if Iran attacks any vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, marking his latest escalation in rhetoric amid the ongoing conflict with Tehran.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said any future Iranian attack on shipping in the strategic waterway would be met with immediate military retaliation.

"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."

His latest warning marked a further escalation in Washington's rhetoric as both countries increasingly target infrastructure linked to the conflict.

US and Iran exchange fresh strikes

The US military carried out another round of overnight strikes across Iran, completing its 11th consecutive night of attacks.

According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the strikes targeted aircraft hangars and drone storage facilities. Iranian air defence systems were activated over Tehran, while state-run IRNA reported explosions in multiple provinces.

Iran responded by launching missiles and drones at Jordan's Red Sea port city of Aqaba, near Israel's southern city of Eilat.

Jordan's military said it intercepted four missiles and four drones, while two missiles landed in uninhabited areas. Videos recorded from Eilat showed smoke rising over Aqaba, highlighting the proximity of the attack to Israel.

Missile alerts were also issued in Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia ordered residents in the eastern city of Dammam to seek shelter before later lifting the warning.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said retaliatory operations against US interests would continue.

Strait of Hormuz remains flashpoint

The conflict has increasingly centred on the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas passes during peacetime.

Iran's attacks on commercial shipping have kept traffic through the strategic waterway severely disrupted, while Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have threatened Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, raising fears of wider disruptions to global trade.

Brent crude rose to around $94 per barrel, while gasoline prices in the United States continued climbing ahead of the country's midterm elections.

Costs of war continue to rise

The financial and human costs of the conflict have continued to mount.

Trump was scheduled to travel to Dover Air Force Base to receive the remains of four US service members killed in the conflict.

A day earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the United States had spent $37.5 billion on the war so far.

Iran's Health Ministry said US strikes over the past 11 days had killed 53 people, including six women and three children, and wounded nearly 600 others.

Diplomacy remains stalled

Efforts to revive negotiations showed little progress despite a visit to Pakistan by Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni. Pakistan has been attempting to mediate between Washington and Tehran after helping broker an interim ceasefire agreement that later collapsed.

Iranian Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Zeinivand insisted diplomacy remained alive, saying messages continued to be exchanged between the two sides.

At a regional summit in the Philippines, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticised Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz, warning that allowing a country to control an international waterway through force would set a dangerous global precedent.

In response to Iran's attacks on shipping, the United States has reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports and continued efforts to disrupt Iran's maritime trade.

Trump hints at strike on underground nuclear site

Speaking from the Oval Office a day earlier, Trump dismissed prospects for fresh negotiations, saying the United States had "no interest in meeting" Iran.

He also suggested US forces could soon target Pickaxe Mountain, an underground facility near Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment complex.

The site has remained untouched despite previous US strikes on Natanz during the 2025 Iran-Israel war.

Iran maintains its nuclear programme is peaceful, while the United States and its allies argue Tehran's continued uranium enrichment could enable it to develop nuclear weapons in the future.