Iran war: Trump threatens bridges over Hormuz Strait attacks
Deutsche Welle · LC · trust 72/100
US President Trump has threatened to destroy a "bridge or power plant" for each ship fired upon in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's foreign minister said any attack would "compel a powerful and decisive response." Follow DW.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HX0K Trump said the US would strike Iranian power plants and bridges if ships in the Strait of Hormuz come under fire [File photo: April 2024] Image: Rouzbeh Fouladi/MEI/SIPA/picture alliance Advertisement Skip next section What you need to know What you need to know Trump says US will attack Iranian bridges and power plants if ships in Strait of Hormuz come under fire Iran's foreign minister says his country's defense doctrine calls for 'an eye for an eye' Fuel prices have soared as Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz and Houthis attack Saudi shipping in the Red Sea Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth requests fresh funding for Iran war in remarks to senators US attacked Iran for 11th consecutive night, CENTCOM says Follow below for the latest developments on the US war with Iran and news from the wider Middle East:
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07/22/2026 July 22, 2026 Iran's foreign minister says its doctrine is 'eye for an eye' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a short statement in English on Wednesday evening threatening reprisals if the US attacks Iranian infrastructure.
"Our defense doctrine is clear: eye for an eye," Araghchi wrote. "Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response."
Iran is not in a position to strike at US infrastructure or targets on the mainland to match Trump's threats issued on Wednesday, and so Araghchi included a renewed warning to its regional neighbors.
"Those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered legitimate targets," he said.
07/22/2026 July 22, 2026 Iranian negotiator Qalibaf: 'no one will sell oil' in a region where we do not sell oil Iran's chief negotiator and parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf , has issued an online post saying that the "equation of this war is clear: either all or none!"
He was making the comments soon after Trump's threat of attacking Iranian infrastructure if Iran attacks commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz .
"In a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil," Qalibaf wrote. "If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe, and the security of the strait is in the absence of American forces."
He concluded by saying Iran had "repeatedly" said the situation of the Strait of Hormuz would not "return to pre-war conditions," without specifying exactly what he meant. But it appears to be a reference to Iranian calls for the introduction of fees or at least some kind of authorization system for ships passing through the strait, even though it's on the open sea not an inland waterway .
07/22/2026 July 22, 2026 Trump attends ceremony for 4 soldiers killed in action in region last week Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and other top officials attended the ceremony Image: Matt Rourke/AP Photo/picture alliance US President Donald Trump has attended what's known as a "dignified transfer" ceremony, meeting the remains of four service members killed in action at the airfield where they were returned from the Middle East.
Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine all attended the ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday. The base is home to the largest US military mortuary.
Officials saluted as four cases draped with the Stars and Stripes flag were carried off a military transport plane and into vehicles waiting on the runway.
Trump was scheduled to meet privately with grieving family members. Asked what he was going to tell the families of the fallen, he said: "All I'm going to say is, we love you. We love your child, and that's what they are to them. They're their children. There's no games, no nothing."
The White House said one of the families will be on Air Force One later Wednesday when Trump flies to an event in Georgia, where the family lives.
Three of the soldiers were killed when an Iranian missile hit their barracks at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Friday. The other died in an incident in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan on Sunday, during a controlled detonation of an attack drone.
07/22/2026 July 22, 2026 Signs of ships avoiding second choke point off Yemen after Houthi warnings: tracker data Houthi supporters rallied in Sanaa in support of the announcement of a maritime blockade earlier this week [FILE: July 20, 2026] Image: Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu Agency/IMAGO Houthi threats to ships headed to or from Saudi Arabia's western shoreline could further impact commercial shipping, data trackers are warning.
The Houthis, who have de facto control over much of Yemen, have declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and told ships to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz. It provides access to western Saudi coastal cities like Jeddah and Yanbu.
Data provider Kpler said shipping in both waterways was "under pressure," saying traffic in both straits had fallen sharply.
Ship broker Clarksons issued a similar warning, saying four vessels had registered new courses on Wednesday, avoiding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and heading north through the Suez Canal towards the Mediterranean instead.
"The threat of Houthi hostile actions against Saudi Arabia ... has begun to have an overall effect on tanker activity," Clarksons wrote. "There are reports of several tankers, having loaded in Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port in the Red Sea, that have shifted course towards the Suez Canal rather than sail south towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait,…
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