Trump: Will destroy bridge, power plant for each Iranian attack in Strait

4 more tankers changed course in Red Sea; Marco Rubio says still ready for talks but Iran not serious

United States (US) President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that the US will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. “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 social media.

 

Trump's latest threat to target civilian infrastructure came as the unpopular war spirals with no clear offramp, threatening further worldwide economic disruption and sending fuel prices up ahead of midterm US elections this fall.

 

 

The US carried out another wave of strikes on Iran overnight into Wednesday, and air defences opened fire over the capital, Tehran. Iran launched a missile attack on a Jordanian city on Israel’s doorstep, and alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. With negotiations stalled, both sides have sought leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure. Iran has responded to US attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants that provide drinking water in parched neighbouring Gulf countries.

 

International law generally prohibits such attacks unless the infrastructure is being used for military purposes. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decried such attacks as “unacceptable” on Tuesday.

 

A new threat by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea puts another trade chokepoint at risk. Four more tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday after Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen threatened the southern route out, highlighting a new risk to global oil supplies. 

 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran was not serious about peace talks, and Pakistan, which has been mediating, condemned the disruption to a second critical energy route, where three tankers turned around on Tuesday. Both Rubio and Pakistan said they still backed the idea of negotiations. Trump attended a ceremony for four US service members who returned to American soil in flag-draped caskets after being killed in Iranian attacks.

 

Jordan’s military said it intercepted four Iranian missiles over Aqaba, while two others fell in “uninhabited areas.” Plumes of smoke could be seen overhead in videos filmed by people in the nearby Israeli city of Eilat. Jordan said it intercepted four Iranian drones. Iran has avoided striking Israel since hostilities resumed last month, apparently hoping to keep it from reentering the war. But the attack on Aqaba, within sight of Israel's Eilat, raised concerns over a further widening of the conflict.

 

Rubio meets Wang Yi

 

United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday discussed a visit to the US in September by Chinese President Xi Jinping during an Asean gathering. Rubio said he and Wang discussed at length the need to lay the groundwork for a “very positive visit” by Xi, and it was their job to manage the big differences between the two countries.  The Asean meeting comes amid a flare-up in the US-Iran conflict and while tension simmers between Beijing and close US ally, the Philippines over an incident in the South China Sea on Monday that led each to summon the other’s ambassador.