Trump threatens Iran’s infrastructure after Houthis block Red Sea artery

DUBAI/MANILA - US President Donald Trump vowed on July 22 to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after Iranian-allied Houthis in Yemen threatened a second vital energy route.

Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on July 22, a day after the Houthi threat to block Saudi oil exports highlighted a new risk to global oil supplies from the escalating conflict.

Three tankers loaded with Saudi oil for China and India made U-turns on July 21.

Iran’s joint military command warned, according to state media, 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.”

“Our defence doctrine is clear: eye for an eye. Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response. Those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X.

Iran’s near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has stoked inflation around the world, and the new risk to shipping from the Houthis, who control areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, pushed oil prices to a near six-week high.

Brent crude futures hit more than US$95 a barrel before easing back to settle just above US$94 a barrel.

US gasoline prices, which have weighed on Trump’s poll ratings ahead of midterm elections in November, have climbed back over US$4 (S$5.16) a gallon.

Millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day have been heading to the kingdom’s Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

If shipments cannot pass through the Red Sea’s southern strait, they have only the northern route through the Suez Canal, which adds weeks to the journey and significantly raises freight and transit costs.

Iranian official says Trump is in a quagmire

US strikes have widened from the south to western and central areas of Iran.

Iran pounded vital water desalination and energy plants in Kuwait this week and targeted US military assets there, in Bahrain and in Jordan.

Iran strengthened its military in anticipation that its adversaries would break agreements, Army Commander-in-Chief Amir Hatami said.

Iranian media cited parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee spokesperson Hasan Qashqavi as saying Trump was in a “quagmire”.

An Iranian health ministry official said 53 civilians had been killed and 592 wounded since late June. The US military has said it never targets civilians.

The war has led to the deaths of 18 US service members and injured more than 450 troops.

The Houthis have threatened a maritime blockade in the Red Sea for Saudi Arabia, whose Yanbu Port has seen more traffic since the war began. PHOTO: NYTIMES

Trump attended a ceremony on July 22 at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for four US service members killed in Iranian attacks on military bases over the last few days – three in Jordan and one in Iraq.

“For me, it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president. But it has to be done,” he said before leaving for the ceremony.

Iran aims to strenthen its hand for talks, analyst says

Mediators have presented Iran with a proposal for a 10-day ceasefire, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on July 20. Analysts said the new threat to shipping from the Houthis was a tactical move by Iran.

“Tehran is trying to create leverage for a negotiation,” said Mahmoud Shehrah, associate fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme at Britain’s Chatham House think-tank.

The proposal aims to salvage an interim ceasefire agreement signed by Washington and Tehran in June.

Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan this week and asked it to continue its mediating efforts.

Pakistan said on July 22 that it would, but that the safety of shipping must be assured. Iran has insisted on maintaining the control over the Strait of Hormuz that it established during the war, which the US and Israel launched on Feb 28.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said allowing Iran to have such control would set a dangerous precedent for the world, including South-east Asia, where many countries have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Iran was not serious about talks, he said.

“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,” he told reporters at a meeting of South-east Asian foreign ministers in Manila.

Explosions heard over Tehran, says Iranian news agency

In the 11th straight night of US bombing of Iran, Tehran residents reported explosions in the early hours of July 22 from air defences activated over the capital, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said.

Three locations in Iran’s Bushehr province, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant, were hit, an official told Iran’s state news agency IRNA, including an electricity post close to the plant.

Iranian media also said the US targeted locations in the central Hamadan province, giving no details.

Iran’s army said it struck accommodation and storage facilities at the US Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan, targeted warehouses and aircraft maintenance hangars at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, and also targeted Camp Doha in Kuwait.

Reuters was unable to immediately verify details of the attacks. Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain all said they had intercepted Iranian attacks. REUTERS