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President Donald Trump has warned Iran that the United States will destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant for every attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, turning the shipping fight into an explicit infrastructure-threat standoff.
The Associated Press, carried by CP24, reported Wednesday that Trump posted the warning after another wave of U.S. strikes on Iran and fresh Iranian attacks across the region. According to AP, Trump wrote that “from this point forward” any Iranian missile, rocket, drone, or other weapon fired at a ship in Hormuz would be answered by bombing and destroying “ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT.”
That is a sharper new angle than this morning’s broader List25 coverage of Marco Rubio’s Hormuz warning. The earlier story focused on Washington’s argument that Iran must not be allowed to control or charge ships in an international waterway. This update is narrower and more dangerous: the U.S. president is now publicly attaching each ship attack to a specific category of retaliatory strike inside Iran.
The Threat Raises The Infrastructure Stakes
The Strait of Hormuz has already been the center of the renewed U.S.-Iran war. AP reported that the waterway, which carries a major share of the world’s traded oil and gas in peacetime, remains heavily disrupted by Iranian attacks and U.S. military pressure. The latest Trump warning signals that Washington may respond to future maritime attacks by hitting fixed infrastructure, not only military launch sites or vessels.
That matters because infrastructure strikes carry a different risk. Bridges and power plants can affect civilian movement, electricity supply, repair timelines, and escalation calculations far beyond the immediate military exchange. Iran has previously warned that attacks on its infrastructure could make regional energy and utility sites legitimate targets, raising the risk of a wider cycle of retaliation.
AP also reported that Iran’s Health Ministry says U.S. strikes over the past 11 days have killed 53 people and wounded nearly 600. List25 has not independently verified those casualty figures. The U.S. military said it completed an 11th night of strikes, hitting targets that included aircraft hangars and drone storage sites.
Jordan And Gulf States Are Back In The Frame
The timing is especially combustible because the latest exchange is no longer limited to Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. AP reported that Jordan said it intercepted four Iranian missiles and four Iranian drones over Aqaba, a Red Sea city near Israel’s Eilat. Two other missiles reportedly fell in uninhabited areas.
The same AP report said missile alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s Gulf city of Dammam before authorities said the immediate danger had passed. Those alerts matter because both countries sit inside the wider U.S. security network in the Gulf, and any confirmed strike on their infrastructure or bases could pull more states directly into the conflict.
Iran has mostly avoided direct attacks on Israel since the latest hostilities resumed, according to AP, but strikes near Aqaba add a new regional flashpoint. A missile or drone incident around that corridor risks drawing in Jordan, Israel, and U.S. forces at the same time.
Diplomacy Is Still Lagging Behind The War
Reuters, carried by Al-Monitor, reported Wednesday that Rubio said Iran is not serious about talks to end the war, even as he said the United States remains willing to negotiate. Reuters also reported that more Saudi crude tankers turned back in the Red Sea after threats from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, adding pressure to a second major energy chokepoint.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Rubio warned Asian officials that Iran’s challenge to freedom of navigation in Hormuz threatened global trade and could set a precedent for contested maritime routes elsewhere.
Taken together, the picture is getting uglier. Rubio is framing Hormuz as a global shipping precedent. Trump is threatening bridge and power-plant strikes for each ship attack. Iran-linked forces are pressuring Red Sea shipping. The diplomatic channel still exists, but the battlefield is setting the pace.
Reporting used in this article includes Associated Press coverage carried by CP24, Reuters reporting carried by Al-Monitor, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporting on Rubio’s Hormuz warning.
Last Update: July 22, 2026
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About the Author
Anant Gupta Writer & Editor
Anant Gupta is an executive by profession and a passionate writer at heart. Pursuing his love for storytelling, he contributes part-time to List25, turning curiosity and knowledge into engaging, informative content.
