U.S. President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that the United States will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran fires at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s Ultimatum on Infrastructure
President Trump issued the warning via social media on July 22, 2026, targeting the ongoing conflict over the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, which served as a transit point for one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas during peacetime, remains largely closed due to Iranian attacks.
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…
President Donald J. Trump, via White House social media
This statement marks a return to threats against civilian infrastructure, a strategy that has drawn international concern. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described such attacks as unacceptable
on Tuesday.
Escalating Military Strikes and Casualties
The U.S. military completed an 11th night of strikes on Iran by Wednesday, hitting targets that included drone storage sites and aircraft hangars. Air defenses were reported to be active over Tehran as explosions occurred across multiple provinces.
The human toll of the conflict is rising. Iran’s Health Ministry reported that 53 people have been killed, including six women and three children, with nearly 600 others wounded during the 11 days of U.S. strikes. Despite these losses, the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has stated its retaliatory attacks will continue.
Diplomatic Stagnation and Regional Stakes
Diplomatic efforts to reach an offramp have shown little progress. Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni traveled to Pakistan to seek a path to peace, though no new arrangements have been finalized. Ali Zeinivand, a spokesperson for Iran’s Interior Ministry, stated that diplomacy isn’t called off
and that communications remain ongoing, as reported by the IRNA news agency.
For more on this story, see Trump says Iran will pay for killing soldiers many times over after Pezeshkian.
In the Philippines, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the conflict as a defense of global trade. Rubio warned that allowing a nation-state to control an international waterway through force and the destruction of ships creates a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world.
Potential Targeting of Nuclear Sites
The scope of the conflict may expand beyond the strait. Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Trump indicated that U.S. forces could target an Iranian nuclear site known as Pickaxe Mountain. The site is located near the Natanz enrichment facility, which was bombed by the U.S. during a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in 2025.
While Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful, the country has resumed near weapons-grade uranium enrichment since the 2015 nuclear deal was scrapped during Trump’s first term. The U.S. and others believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program until 2003 and may reconstitute it in the future.
The U.S. has responded to the maritime crisis by re-imposing a blockade on Iranian ports, further tightening economic pressure as the conflict threatens global fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. With the U.S. signaling potential strikes on deep-underground infrastructure and Iran vowing continued resistance, the war currently lacks a clear resolution.
