FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo
President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to destroy Iranian bridges and power plants each time Tehran attacks a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, laying out a direct retaliation policy as fighting around the critical oil chokepoint continues to escalate.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president said the targets could include infrastructure “next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran.”
The warning publicly ties any future Iranian attack on merchant shipping to a U.S. strike against the country’s civilian infrastructure.
Trump’s statement comes after 11 consecutive nights of U.S. strikes against Iranian targets and a renewed series of Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and American forces in the region.
The threat marks another escalation in a conflict that has already sharply reduced confidence in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
The Strait of Hormuz remains open to commercial traffic, but transits have fallen well below normal levels as owners, insurers and crews assess the worsening security environment. Ships using U.S.-coordinated southern route through Omani waters have repeatedly come under attack since the collapse of the US-Iran MoU on July 8.
Trump has repeatedly said the United States intends to keep the strait open while enforcing a blockade against ships trading with Iranian ports or carrying Iranian cargo. The latest warning goes further by linking individual attacks on shipping to strikes against Iranian civilian infrastructure.
For shipping companies, however, the announcement offers no immediate reduction in risk.
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