SerpApi.Org
President Trump on Wednesday threatened to authorize strikes against Iranian civilian infrastructure if the Islamic Republic continues to target vessels 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, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president’s maximalist rhetoric toward Tehran is not new, as he threatened to strike civilian infrastructure multiple times during the early months of the war. Trump warned Iran in April that a “whole civilization will die,” before backing off his threat to launch a wave of severe strikes.
International attacks on civilians and civilian objects that are not directly involved in hostilities are war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which the U.S. is not a party to. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced a diplomatic effort last week to “dismantle” the ICC.
Since July 6, Iranian forces have attacked at least a dozen ships in the strait, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The start of those strikes spurred the renewal of military hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, laying waste to the memorandum of understanding the two sides agreed to in mid-June.
On Tuesday, U.S. Central Command (Centcom) conducted its 11th consecutive night of strikes against Iran. Centcom said it targeted military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and military logistics infrastructure “to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz.
From July 8-17, the American military’s resumption of strikes against Iran killed at least 48 people and injured another 68, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The group also reported that U.S. strikes have damaged ports, piers, fishing vessels, bridges, railway lines, airports, telecommunications towers and infrastructure sites related to water, food, communications, transportation and local economies.
While daily transits through the Strait of Hormuz rose to more than 60 in late June, they fell to less than 40 by the end of the month amid Iran’s continued restrictions, according to the IMO. Traffic through the strait is still well below prewar levels.
That has sparked another increase in oil prices in recent weeks, as nearly 34 percent of the world’s crude oil passed through the strait last year, according to the International Energy Agency.
The per-barrel price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is more than $93 as of Wednesday, after dipping to less than $72 in late June. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude, meanwhile, costs more than $86 per barrel after falling to less than $70 last month.
Average prices at the pump in the U.S. have risen to more than $4 per gallon as a result, after falling under that benchmark in the weeks after the U.S. and Iran signed the memorandum of understanding, according to AAA.
Updated at 9:55 a.m. EDT
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