WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has threatened to expand US strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not return to talks amid a continuing dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
“Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges,” the US president said on Tuesday. “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
The comments, made in a Fox News interview, aired as the two countries exchanged fire for the fourth day in a row.
Trump earlier reversed a threat of a 20% fee on all Strait of Hormuz cargo shipping but resumed blockading Iranian ports.
Back in April, Trump threatened to bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, including bridges and power plants.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk responded at the time by saying: “Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime.”
The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians.
“I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets,” Trump said in an interview on Special Report with Bret Baier that aired on Tuesday night.
He said US negotiators had conveyed to their Iranian counterparts on Tuesday evening that they “‘better make a deal, or you’re not going to have anything left’”.
The escalation in rhetoric comes after Trump said a 20% toll he had threatened to impose in the Strait of Hormuz would be replaced by “massive” trade and investment deals with Gulf states. His announcement came hours before the US resumed its blockade of Iranian ports.
Renewed strikes between the US and Iran triggered a sharp rise in oil prices as tanker traffic through the Strait has virtually stalled.
US Central Command (Centcom) said late on Tuesday that its “forces began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping” in the key waterway.
In a statement late on Tuesday, US Admiral Brad Cooper said Iran had “intentionally targeted civilians” in the region by attacking seven commercial ships, which had resulted in “nearly a dozen civilian crew members killed, missing, or injured”.
The United Arab Emirates said on Monday night that Iranian cruise missiles had targeted two national tankers, killing an Indian crew member and wounding eight others, four seriously.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later confirmed the strikes via a statement to Telegram, where it said two tankers had ignored warnings, turned off navigation systems and attempted to pass through a mined route.
It was unclear which other attacks the Centcom statement was referring to. The IRGC did not immediately comment.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Kuwait’s military said it was intercepting Iranian attack drones, while Bahrain activated air raid sirens.
“Kuwaiti air defences are currently engaging hostile drone attacks following the nefarious Iranian aggression,” the Kuwaiti army said.
Bahrain’s interior ministry urged citizens and residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.
Tehran said on Tuesday it had targeted US military facilities in Bahrain and Jordan after earlier hitting two United Arab Emirates tankers.
The ongoing strikes have underscored the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran accuses the US of interfering in its management of Hormuz, but controlling it means Tehran can also threaten the global economy.
On Monday, Trump declared that the US was now the “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz, and vowed to impose a 20% charge on all cargo shipped through the waterway to pay for protecting it.
In his latest post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
He also said the strait “is open to ALL Ship traffic except for Iran” and that “oil is flowing like never before, thanks to the awesome Power of the United States Military”.
Speaking later, after talks in Washington with the new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Trump said: “I don’t like the concept of a fee, but at the same time, it’s not fair that we’re protecting this Strait for the entire world.”
In response to Trump’s announcement, Iran said it would remain in control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Prospects for negotiations aimed at securing a permanent truce after a fragile interim ceasefire was signed on 17 June appear increasingly dim. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the US decision to renew the blockade “has, in a way, dismantled the Islamabad memorandum”.
Asked how long the US strikes would carry on, Trump replied: “They’ll continue until I say it’s enough … We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
Gharibabadi also told state television, as quoted by Reuters news agency: “If the US thinks that by tightening its measures against us, its military actions and its economic blockade, we will return to negotiations, it is making a mistake.”
Meanwhile, shipping data shows traffic through the strait has slowed to a two-month low. The benchmark Brent Crude oil price has also risen sharply.
Source: Saudi Gazette