Investing.com – The U.S. will target bridges and power plants in Iran in response to any attacks by Tehran on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday.
In a social media post, Trump wrote: “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.”
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of not being serious about conducting peace negotiations, as Washington completed another night of attacks on Iranian targets.
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Speaking at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in the Philippines, Rubio stressed that the U.S. remained willing to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict, yet suggested that Tehran did not share this commitment.
“If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what’s necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies,” Rubio said.
He emphasized that Iran must not have the ability to control oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, saying it would create a dangerous precedent for other global chokepoints, particularly in disputed territories in the South China Sea. Many Southeast Asian nations have disagreements with China over control of sections of the region.
Diplomacy push
The comments come as media reports have suggested that mediators are continuing to attempt to revive a diplomatic solution to the Iran conflict, which is now threatening to expand to include other parts of the Persian Gulf.
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni has visited with Pakistani mediators this week. According to a senior Iranian official quoted by Reuters, Iran has received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire, in an push to rescue a framework deal to halt hostilities which the U.S. and Iran signed in June.
Yet, for the moment, the diplomacy has not yielded immediate progress. Trump offered a pessimistic view of new talks on Tuesday, saying that Washington had “no interest in meeting” with Iran.
Instead, fighting has continued, with the U.S. military concluding an 11th-straight night of strikes on targets across Iran early on Wednesday. Trump threatened to attack a suspected Iranian nuclear site known as “Pickaxe Mountain.” Trump said the U.S. could attack the site “pretty soon, and very heavily.”
His statement drew a sharp rebuke from Iran, with Tehran warning of a major expansion of the war following any attacks on its nuclear facilities. Reports said Iran had moved thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges to the facility, which is located deep inside a mountain.
Tehran, meanwhile, has targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
At the same time, Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have told shipping companies that vessels loading or discharging Saudi oil will be attacked, possibly opening a new front in the war. Specifically, such actions could impact crude flows through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads into the Red Sea.
Trump said that the closure of that conduit has not happened, but vowed that the U.S. would “take care of it” should the strait be closed. Three oil tankers laden with Saudi crude deviated from the Red Sea on Tuesday, choosing to take a route via the Suez Canal over sailing past the Yemeni coast.
Against this backdrop, oil prices have climbed to nearly six-week highs, exacerbating fears of an energy shock that could spark an inflationary wave and central bank interest rate hikes.
Iran war cost has risen to $37.5 billion, Hegseth tells Congress
The cost of the U.S. war on Iran has risen to $37.5 billion, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers on Tuesday, as Trump seeks more military funding from Congress.
The hearing centered on the Trump administration’s request for a large supplemental funding package, with a bulk of the requested $90 billion package earmarked specifically for the Iran war.
Hegseth said the estimated price tag of the war covered payroll, operations, maintenance and other anticipated costs through the end of the fiscal year in September.
But several reports prior to his testimony said the real cost could be much higher. NBC News reported that the Pentagon’s internal overall estimate was between $80 billion and $100 billion, with a bulk of the higher expenses coming from the repair of bases damaged by Iranian attacks.
(Ambar Warrick contributed reporting)