US will destroy one bridge or power plan for one Iranian attack of vessels in the Gulf, warns Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Iran that the U.S. will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

In his warning on social media, the president returned to earlier threats to target civilian infrastructure in retaliation for Iranian attacks. It comes as strikes have escalated on both sides, leaving an interim deal to end the war in tatters.

“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.

Meantime the United States on Wednesday carried out another wave of strikes on Iran, where air defenses 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.

The 11th night of American airstrikes on Iran came as diplomatic efforts have shown little public sign of progress. Officials on both sides have dug in on their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed because of Iranian attacks.

Iran has avoided striking Israel since hostilities resumed last month, apparently hoping to keep it from reentering the war.

But the missile and drone attack on Jordan’s city of Aqaba, within sight of Israel’s Eilat, raised concerns over a further widening of the conflict after an agreement to halt hostilities collapsed.

The closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed during peacetime, has jolted the world economy with effects far beyond the Middle East. A new threat by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea puts another trade chokepoint at risk.

Benchmark Brent crude oil rose to around $94 a barrel in trading, and gasoline prices are once again climbing ahead of U.S. midterm elections this fall.