President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday that the United States would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant — including those in or near Tehran — for every attack on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The threat, posted on his Truth Social platform, marks an explicit expansion of targeting to civilian infrastructure and came as US forces conducted an eleventh consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military sites.

Tehran’s response was immediate and symmetrical. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that Iran’s defence doctrine is ‘eye for an eye’, while the joint military command warned that any attack on the country’s infrastructure would trigger strikes on regional oil, gas and electricity facilities and halt all oil exports. Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, framed the conflict in zero-sum terms: ‘either all or none’. In parallel, Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi vessels, a move that would sever the kingdom’s Red Sea export route and further strain global energy markets.

The twin threats to the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb pushed Brent crude above $95 a barrel, its highest level in nearly six weeks, before settling just above $94. US petrol prices have risen above $4 a gallon, adding domestic political pressure on Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections. The Pentagon has put the cost of the war at $37.5 billion and is seeking an additional $67 billion, while 18 American service members have been killed and more than 450 wounded. In Iran, a health ministry official reported 53 civilian dead and 592 injured since late June, and the UN Secretary-General has described attacks on civilian objects as ‘unacceptable’ under international law.

The escalation follows the collapse of a June ceasefire that had briefly reopened the Strait of Hormuz. Washington maintains it is acting to protect freedom of navigation and prevent Iran from imposing tolls on a waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas trade. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US remains open to a negotiated solution, but Trump later asserted that Iran is ‘not ready’ for a deal. Tehran says indirect contacts continue through mediators, yet no formal talks are scheduled. The US president has also threatened to strike an underground nuclear site near Natanz, which Iran dismisses as a fabricated pretext. With military operations ongoing and diplomatic channels stalled, the conflict shows no sign of de-escalation.