Trump threatens US strikes on Iranian power plants, bridges

President Donald Trump has threatened to escalate U.S. military strikes against Iran to include civilian power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations and reopens the Strait of Hormuz. The warning, delivered in a televised interview on July 14, marks a significant intensification of rhetoric amid renewed hostilities that have shattered a fragile ceasefire agreement reached in June.

Speaking on July16, Trump reiterated his warning, stating Iran should "better behave" and that he does not believe in setting deadlines, but that the country "pretty much knows the story." He indicated the military campaign would continue until he decided otherwise. The president had previously stated on July 14 that U.S. strikes would intensify nightly, with power plants and bridges becoming targets the following week. He claimed U.S. negotiators had recently conveyed to their Iranian counterparts that Tehran must "make a deal, or you're not going to have anything left."

The immediate trigger for the renewed conflict was a series of Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz around July 6 and 7. In response, U.S. Central Command launched multiple waves of...