President Donald Trump issued a direct warning to the Islamic Republic of Iran this Wednesday on his social media platform Truth Social: from that moment on, whenever Iranian forces fire upon a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States will bomb and destroy a bridge or a power plant in Iran, including facilities located near Tehran or within the capital.
"From now on, whenever the Islamic Republic of Iran fires at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether with missiles, rockets, drones, or any other device or weapon, the U.S. will bomb and destroy a bridge or a power plant, including those facilities located near the capital, Tehran, or within it," he wrote at 8:56 am.
The warning was issued while Trump was traveling to the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to receive with honors the remains of U.S. military personnel who lost their lives in Iranian attacks in Jordan and Iraq.
Before boarding Air Force One, the president was emphatic: "They will pay a very high price and they are being decimated."
The immediate context is grim for Washington. The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday the death of Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, 28, who had previously been reported missing following the Iranian attack on July 17 against the Muwaffaq Salti airbase in Jordan.
With that confirmation, the number of U.S. military personnel who have died since the onset of the conflict on February 28, 2026, rises to 18.
According to the agency EFE in Washington, U.S. forces have also completed their eleventh consecutive night of attacks against Iran, striking military operation centers, drone facilities, maritime capabilities, and logistics.
Central Command (CENTCOM) assured that the Strait of Hormuz remains "open" to commercial traffic despite Iranian attacks on more than 30 vessels in the past three months, and since the beginning of May, it has facilitated the passage of about 900 commercial ships and 450 million barrels of crude oil.
Iran, for its part, claimed on Wednesday that it had attacked two military bases used by the U.S. in Jordan, destroyed eight MQ-9 drones, and caused fatalities and injuries among American soldiers.
The exchange of attacks occurs following the breakdown of the ceasefire signed on June 18, which had opened a window for negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program.
Hostilities resumed about two weeks ago and have halted any attempts at a diplomatic exit.
The day before, Trump had already warned that the U.S. could attack "very soon" the Pico Mountain, an underground complex linked to the Iranian nuclear program.
"We will probably target that area very soon. And there is nothing they can do about it," he declared during a meeting at the White House with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
The Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth estimated before the Senate that the war against Iran has cost 37.5 billion dollars and requested nearly 70 billion more to fund operations and replenish armaments.
From Manila, where he participated in the ASEAN foreign ministers' summit, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Tehran's ambitions regarding control of the strait would set an unacceptable precedent: "If we create a precedent in the Middle East, where the interest of one nation can determine whether to control a passage of international waters, charge a toll, and if it is not paid to blow up ships, we will have created a very dangerous precedent."
Rubio also noted that Washington is willing to negotiate, but that Iran "has not fulfilled its commitments" from the June ceasefire: "The problem we have now is that they are not taking the negotiations seriously. If they are serious, we will be as well."
Meanwhile, a survey published this Wednesday by Politico among 2,061 Americans revealed that 36% believe the U.S. should not continue its involvement in the conflict, a 14 percentage point increase since May, while only 16% support keeping the war active.
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