Iranian officials said Tehran would retaliate by targeting “energy facilities in which the United States has an interest.”
Published July 22, 2026
President Donald Trump has warned that U.S. forces will target Iranian civilian infrastructure every time Iranian forces shell ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
If Wednesday’s warning comes true, it would significantly escalate conflicts already swirling across the region.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
“From now on, every time the Islamic Republic of Iran fires on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether by missiles, rockets, drones, or other devices or weapons, the United States will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those next to or within the capital Tehran,” Trump said in a social media post.
“Thank you for your consideration in this matter!”
President Trump has previously said the United States would bomb Iran’s bridges and power plants, even threatening to wipe out civilization, but Wednesday’s statement is more specific than previous threats.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing Iranian military officials, said Iran would retaliate in kind if Iranian infrastructure was attacked.
“If the US targets Iranian bridges or power plants, Iran will retaliate by attacking infrastructure and bridges in the region, including energy facilities, in which the US has interests,” the official said, according to Tasnim news agency.
The official added that passage through Hormuz Island is safe for ships, but coordination with Iran is required.
The United States and Iran have been exchanging attacks over the past 12 days over the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was supposed to end a war between the two countries fell through.
Iran claimed sovereignty over the strategic waterway and said the memorandum gave it authority to control the strait. But the Trump administration insists that Hormuz must return to its pre-war status as an international free corridor.
The fighting resumed after ships that crossed the strait on the Omani side without coordination with Iran were targeted.
US forces attacked Iranian military targets as well as civilian ports and bridges, killing dozens of people. The Iranian government retaliated with a barrage of missiles and rockets at U.S. military bases across the region.
Iranian attacks have killed at least four military personnel and wounded several others in Jordan and Iraq this month. Late Tuesday, the Pentagon identified the third person killed in the Iranian missile attack in Jordan as 28-year-old Angel Rampersad. Rampersad went missing shortly after the attack.
President Trump is scheduled to attend the arrival of the remains of military personnel arriving in the United States (known as a dignified transfer) at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday.
He said Iran would “pay a heavy price” for the killing of the U.S. soldier. “They’re being destroyed,” Trump said as he departed for the air base.
The recurrence of war caused oil prices to rise again after a temporary grace period during the armistice period. The average price of a gallon of gasoline (3.4 liters) in the United States has fallen to about $3.80 from a high of $4.50 during the ceasefire, and has now topped $4.
