President Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday that the United States will retaliate against any Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz by destroying an Iranian bridge or power plant, as escalating hostilities and stalled peace talks keep the critical oil shipping route effectively shut down.
Trump’s Retaliation Threat and the Control of Hormuz
President Trump declared via a social media post that the United States will blow up an Iranian bridge or power plant—including those situated within the capital city of Tehran—each time the Islamic Republic fires upon a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
The warning follows the collapse of ceasefire negotiations and the recent deaths of three American service members. The retaliatory pledge applies to any hostile projectile, whether launched by missile, rocket, drone, or other weaponry. At the same time, the president maintained that the United States exercises complete control over the vital maritime passage, asserting that no other nation shares that level of influence in the region.
We completely control the Strait of Hormuz. We are the ones who control it, no one else, only us.
President Donald Trump, via Ajel
During a press briefing, the president also voiced deep distrust of Iranian leadership, telling reporters that he is the last person who could trust Iran because they had lied to him repeatedly throughout the ongoing conflict.
Economic Pressure and the Financial Squeeze on Tehran
With U.S. weapon stockpiles dwindling and stop-start diplomatic efforts stalled, the administration has pivoted heavily toward financial coercion.
Trump asserted that Iran is completely broke and unable to pay its soldiers, citing skyrocketing inflation rates that reach 300%. The administration is betting that this mounting financial distress will force Tehran’s leadership to capitulate on its nuclear program and reopen the waterway.
However, policy experts urge caution regarding how quickly economic pressure can yield results. Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University who helped direct Iran sanctions strategy during the Obama administration, noted that financial penalties cannot match the immediate disruption caused by the shuttered strait. Nephew observed that Trump has weakened his own strategic hand by failing to articulate clear objectives for the military campaign while vacillating between demands regarding nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and control of the waterway.
Iran Vows to Keep the Waterway Shut
Tehran shows no sign of backing down in the face of renewed sanctions or military threats. Mohsen Rezaei, newly appointed as the secretary-general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, stated that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed unless Washington meets specific Iranian preconditions.
Those conditions include the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to military conflicts across the region, including in Gaza and Lebanon. Rezaei’s comments mark the strongest indication yet that the vital transit corridor—which handled roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows prior to the war—will stay blocked to maritime traffic. Responding to Trump’s threat against Iranian infrastructure, an unnamed military source told the Tasnim News Agency that Iran will strike regional infrastructure and energy facilities where American interests are present if the United States targets domestic power plants or bridges.
Diplomatic Standoff and Global Market Impact
Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Tehran of lacking seriousness in diplomatic negotiations during a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Philippines. Rubio emphasized that Iran demands the right to control international traffic through the strait, a claim unsupported by international law.
Meanwhile, the protracted conflict continues to rattle global energy markets. Crude oil prices climbed as investors worried that the ongoing closure of the strait would further restrict international fuel supplies. Brent crude futures rose by a margin to settle at $88.91 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained ground to reach a figure.
As U.S. Central Command continued its aerial campaign against military logistics and drone storage facilities for an eleventh consecutive night, Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, criticized Washington’s reliance on punitive measures.
Esmail Baghaei, Foreign Ministry Spokesman for Iran, stated that whenever Washington proves itself incapable of pursuing diplomacy, it retreats into sanctions, and whenever those sanctions fail to produce results, it simply increases the dose.
=== END ARTICLE HTML ===
