US and Iran attacks rage across Middle East - EUROPE SAYS
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U. S. President Donald Trumpwarned Wednesdaythat the U. S. will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in theStrait of Hormuz. Trump’slatest threatto. . .
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U. S. President Donald Trumpwarned Wednesdaythat the U. S. will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in theStrait of Hormuz. Trump’slatest threatto target civilian infrastructure came as theunpopular warspirals with no clear off-ramp, threatening further worldwide economic disruption and sending fuel prices up ahead of midterm U. S. elections this fall. Both sides have dug in on their dispute over the strait, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed because of Iranian attacks. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said his country would adopt an “eye for an eye” defense doctrine. “Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response,” he posted Wednesday on X. The U. S. carried out another wave ofstrikes on Iranovernight into Wednesday, and air defenses opened fire over the capital, Tehran. Iran launched a missile attack on a Jordanian city on Israel’s doorstep, and alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Withnegotiations largely stalled, both sides have sought leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure. Iran has responded to U. S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure anddesalination plantsthat provide drinking water in parched neighboring Gulf countries. AP AUDIO: Trump says US will destroy a bridge or power plant for each Iranian attack in the Strait of HormuzAP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports President Trump is again threatening to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure. International law generally prohibits such attacksunless the infrastructure is being used for military purposes. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decried such attacks as “unacceptable” on Tuesday. The costs of war are mountingThe closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed during peacetime, hasjolted the world economywith effects far beyond the Middle East. A new threatby Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea puts another trade chokepoint at risk. “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,” Trump wrote on social media. Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for the arrival of the remains of four U. S. service members. A day earlier, his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, estimated in a fiery Senate hearing that the U. S. had spent $37. 5 billion on the war so far. Benchmark Brent crude oilrose to more than $93 a barrelin trading. That’s up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war. Gasoline pricesare also climbing. Sign up for Morning Wire:Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the strait, which was open to all and toll-free before the war. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by U. S. forces and intended to be outside Tehran’s control. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has led negotiations with the U. S. , appeared to brush off Trump’s threats. “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 wrote on social media. “We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to prewar conditions. ”Attacks shake Iran and JordanJordan’s military said it intercepted four Iranian missiles over Aqaba, while two others fell in “uninhabited areas. ” Plumes of smoke could be seen overhead in videos filmed by people in the nearby Israeli city of Eilat. Jordan said it also intercepted four Iranian drones. Iran has avoided striking Israel since hostilities resumed last month, apparently hoping to keep it from reentering the war. But the attack on Aqaba, within sight of Israel’s Eilat, raised concerns over a further widening of the conflict afteran agreement to halt hostilities collapsed. Another missile alert sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia warned residents of the Persian Gulf city of Dammam to seek shelter. Saudi authorities later said the danger had passed, without elaborating. The U. S. military said earlier Wednesday that it had completed an 11th night of strikes on Iran, with targets including aircraft hangars and drone storage sites. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported explosions across several provinces. Iran’s Health Ministry says U. S. strikes over the past 11 days have killed 53 people, including six women and three children, and wounded nearly 600 people. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted its retaliatory attacks would continue. Diplomatic efforts show no signs of progressBefore the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, seeking to revive diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Zeinivand said “diplomacy isn’t called off” and that messages were still being exchanged, without elaborating, according to IRNA. An Arab diplomat said Gulf states are increasingly pessimistic about finding an off-ramp for escalating hostilities and are particularly concerned about the latest round of threats in which the two sides have warned they may attack civilian infrastructure. The diplomat said countries in the region, in addition to Pakistan and Turkey, are continuing to push for de-escalation. But, he said the chances for any improvement currently appear bleak. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. At aregional summitin the Philippines, U. S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced Iran’s actions in the strait. “If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” he said. Rubio said the U. S. remains open to negotiations with Iran, “but right now they don’t seem to be serious about that” so instead the focus is on protecting shipping. In response to Iran’s attacks, the U. S. re-imposed a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump signals US may attack underground nuclear siteSpeaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the U. S. had “no interest in meeting. ”He signaled that U. S. forces could soon targetan under-construction Iranian nuclear siteburied deep under a mountain. The site, known as Pickaxe Mountain, lies on the south side of Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the U. S. during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in 2025. But Pickaxe Mountain has remained untouched as Iran continues to dig at the site. Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, while resuming theenrichment of uraniumto near weapons-grade levels since Trumpscrapped a 2015 nuclear dealduring his first term. The U. S. and others believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program until 2003 and may reconstitute it in the future. ___Binkley reported from Washington. Contributing were Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.