TRUMP THREATENS INFRASTRUCTURE
Before the Red Sea flare-up, Trump vowed on Wednesday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s joint military command in turn warned that if Trump’s threat against infrastructure was carried out, Iranian forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic infrastructure and prevent the export of “even a single drop of oil”, Iranian state media reported.
Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported an explosion in what it called a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, saying one of three oil tankers had caught fire while the other two turned back. The Guards said the strait was under their control and “completely closed”, warning that no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without coordination with Iran.
In 12 straight days of attacks since a June ceasefire fell apart, American strikes have widened from the south to western and central areas of Iran. The US military’s Central Command said it would continue to “further degrade” Iran’s ability to threaten ship traffic.
Iranian media reports said the US twice on Thursday attacked a military target in Bushehr, near the country’s only operating commercial nuclear power reactor, marking three strikes there in two days.
State TV reported two people were killed and 11 wounded in what a Khuzestan provincial official described as a US missile attack on the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.
Despite claims from Washington that it has destroyed Iran militarily, Tehran has demonstrated it retains missile and drone capabilities.
Iran pounded vital water desalination and energy plants in Kuwait this week and struck US military assets there, in Bahrain and in Jordan.