Iran Vows to Cut Off U.S. Allies' Electricity if Bridges, Power Plants Struck, Following Trump Warning

As both Washington and Tehran escalate attacks on critical infrastructure, Trump said Americans are not opposed to the war, while Iran threatened to 'carry out an operation so devastating that it will lead to the declaration of a national day of mourning in the United States'

July 22nd, 19PM July 22nd, 23PM

U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is striking Iranian assets along the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, adding that Iran "will be ready very soon" to negotiate.

"If you combine us and Venezuela, we have about 62 percent of the world's oil market, so we don't need straits," he said. "We don't need the Hormuz Strait, but we do it because we have to do it, because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. It's very simple." He added that the United States is "ensuring that they will never, ever be able to do to us what they've done to so many," adding that the current reciprocal strikes are "a skirmish"

The U.S. president added that Iran is "not ready" for a deal with Washington, "because every time they make a deal, they want to change it and everything." He added, "They'll be ready very soon."

Calling the conflict in Iran a skirmish, Trump said "they're getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal. But I say they're not ready to make a deal, because every time they make a deal, they want to change it and everything. They're not ready."

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

In turn, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Commander Majid Mousavi warned that Tehran will cut off the electricity of U.S. regional allies if its bridges or power plants are attacked, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The Revolutionary Guard also said it is prepared to carry out an attack "so devastating that it will lead to the declaration of a national day of mourning in the United States."

The U.S. Central Command announced that American forces are enforcing the naval blockade against Iran, adding that it has redirected nine commercial vessels and disabled one.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote that "no one will sell oil" if Iran is prevented from exporting its fossil fuel, adding, "If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe, and the security of the strait is in the absence of American forces."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran will respond to any aggression, vowing to attack aggressors' allies.

"Our defense doctrine is clear: eye for an eye," he wrote. "Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response." He added that "those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets."

Tehran's top joint military command also said Trump's repeated threats to strike Iranian infrastructure "will only lead to the expansion of the war in the region and beyond," state media reported.

The command also said that if Washington follows through on its threats, Iran will stop all Gulf oil flow and target oil, gas, electricity and economic infrastructure in the region.

Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced that it has "temporarily" evacuated its embassy staff from Iran "due to the security situation," and that the embassy "continues to operate remotely."

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Later on Wednesday, Trump said Iran will pay a heavy price for its strikes on U.S. bases, adding that most Americans don't oppose the war.

"Americans aren't against the war," Trump told reporters before heading to a base where he is set to accept slain U.S. soldiers' caskets, according to CNN. "A poll just came out. Americans don't want high gasoline prices, but they're not against the war."

Washington carried out another wave of strikes on Iran overnight into Wednesday, and air defenses opened fire over the capital, Tehran. Iran launched a missile attack on the Jordanian port city of Aqaba near Israel's Eilat, and alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

With negotiations largely stalled, both sides have sought leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure. Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants that provide drinking water in parched neighboring 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.

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.

Earlier on Wednesday, 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 Israel's Eilat. Jordan said it also 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 after an agreement to halt hostilities collapsed.

Another missile alert sounded in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia warned residents of the Persian Gulf city of Dammam to seek shelter. Saudi authorities later said the danger had passed, without elaborating.

The U.S. military said earlier Wednesday that it had completed an 11th night of strikes on Iran, with targets including aircraft hangars and drone storage sites.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported explosions across several provinces. Iran's Health Ministry says U.S. strikes over the past 11 days have killed 53 people, including six women and three children and wounded nearly 600 people.

Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, seeking to revive diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Zeinivand said "diplomacy isn't called off" and that messages were still being exchanged, without elaborating, according to IRNA.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying Washington had "no interest in meeting."

He signaled that U.S. forces could soon target an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain.

The site, known as Pickaxe Mountain, lies on the south side of Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the U.S. during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in 2025. But Pickaxe Mountain has remained untouched as Iran continues to dig at the site.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, while resuming the enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels since Trump scrapped a 2015 nuclear deal during his first term. The U.S. and others believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program until 2003 and may reconstitute it in the future.