Trump threatens to bomb Iran bridges and power plants over Hormuz attacks

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant for every attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. He warned he was "not finished" with a conflict that has already cost Washington $37.5 billion, as Iran presses its blockade of the strait.

Why is Trump targeting Iran's bridges and power plants?

Trump has vowed that any Iranian strike on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz will trigger a U.S. strike on an Iranian bridge or power plant. The pledge follows the collapse of a preliminary U.S.-Iran deal and Tehran's renewed blockade of the strait, a key route for global oil and gas shipments.

"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 on social media. The statement repeats a threat he has made in recent days.

Top U.S. diplomat Marco Rubio said Washington remains open to a negotiated settlement. "We remain open to working it out in a negotiated way. But right now, they don't seem to be serious about that," he said at a Southeast Asia ministers' meeting in Manila. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said diplomatic exchanges with Washington through mediators were continuing.

What is happening in the Strait of Hormuz?

Fighting over the strait led to the collapse of the preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement, and Tehran has reimposed its blockade on the passage. Iranian forces have fired on vessels attempting to transit the strait, a route that carries a large share of the world's oil and gas exports.

The blockade has unsettled markets and pushed oil prices higher, adding pressure on Trump as the conflict weighs on household costs ahead of closely fought midterm elections. Brent Crude briefly topped $95 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest level in six weeks, before giving back some gains.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the war's cost had reached $37.5 billion, a figure he cited while defending a request for additional military funding. Despite mounting criticism from within his own political base, Trump said Tuesday, "We're not finished at all... we're not leaving right now." On Wednesday afternoon, a U.S. missile struck Larak island in the strait, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported, with the extent of the damage still under investigation.

What is Pickaxe Mountain?

The U.S. military said it had carried out an eleventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, targeting military sites to curb Tehran's ability to threaten shipping through Hormuz. Trump said the next U.S. target could be Pickaxe Mountain, known in Persian as Kolang, an underground site near Natanz where Western intelligence agencies suspect Iran is building an undeclared nuclear enrichment facility.

Iran's Khatam Al-Anbiya military command warned it would treat such a strike as an expansion of the war, threatening action against "all the interests of America, the allies and supporters," according to state broadcaster reports. Baqaei rejected the allegation, calling Washington's focus on the site "a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage."

Separately, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi told the BBC that inspectors "should be there already," stressing the importance of verifying Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Has Iran retaliated elsewhere in the Gulf?

Tehran has extended its assault to targets across U.S.-allied Gulf states. Kuwait's army said its air defenses engaged Iranian drones, while Jordan said it shot down four Iranian missiles and four drones. Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, where an AFP correspondent reported hearing an explosion.

Iran's military said it struck U.S. assets in Kuwait and Bahrain, including air defense systems, radar installations and administrative buildings, and the Revolutionary Guards said they had also targeted U.S. bases in Jordan. After Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen threatened to blockade Saudi ports, Trump said he would "take care of" the group if it followed through.

It remains unclear how the Houthis would enforce a blockade, though it would compound the impact of the Hormuz closure. Maritime intelligence provider Vanguard Tech said a Singapore-flagged tanker and a Liberia-flagged tanker both reversed course in the Red Sea after loading crude at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port. During the Gaza war that began in October 2023, Houthi attacks on Red Sea and Gulf of Aden shipping forced vessels into long detours around Africa and prompted a U.S. bombing campaign.