{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Return to the Table or Watch Your Bridges and Power Plants Fall, Trump Warns Iran",
  "summary": "US President Donald Trump has warned that Washington will destroy Iran's power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran comes back to negotiations. The threat lands as the two nations trade fire for a fourth straight day.",
  "content": "US President Donald Trump has issued a blunt and menacing warning to Iran, saying Washington will strike the country's bridges and power plants next week if Tehran refuses to return to the negotiating table. The remarks came during a television interview that aired even as the United States and Iran exchanged fire for the fourth day running. The confrontation between the two nations has now reached a point where the situation grows more dangerous with each passing day.\n\nIn his characteristic style, Trump declared, \"Next week it gets really bad for them. We're going to knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.\" His words leave little doubt that Washington intends to sharply intensify the pressure on Iran.\n\nA Threat to Save Energy Targets for Last\nIn the interview, aired on Tuesday night on a programme called Special Report with Bret Baier, Trump said, \"I'll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we'll hit energy targets.\" He added that American negotiators had passed a message to their Iranian counterparts on Tuesday evening telling them they had \"better make a deal, or you're not going to have anything left.\"\n\nThis sharp escalation in rhetoric followed another major announcement. Trump had said that the 20% fee he had threatened to impose on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz would be replaced by \"massive\" trade and investment deals with Gulf states. In other words, the fee was shelved for now, but a fresh condition was placed on the table in its stead.\n\nA Seven-Hour Wave of Strikes\nThat announcement came just hours before the US military launched a seven-hour wave of strikes on Iran and reimposed a blockade of its ports. US Central Command (Centcom) said it had struck \"dozens\" of Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz, with the aim of \"further degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian crews.\"\n\nIran's army said on Wednesday that at least seven Iranian military personnel had been killed in the US strikes on a base in the south-eastern city of Bampur. Iran hit back in kind. According to Iranian state television IRIB, Tehran fired missiles and drones at US targets in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.\n\nIn the early hours of Wednesday, Kuwait's military said it was intercepting Iranian attack drones, while Bahrain's military said it had \"succeeded in intercepting and destroying\" aerial attacks. Tension spread across several fronts at once throughout the region.\n\nAccusations Over Attacks on Commercial Ships\nThe United States accused Iran of having \"intentionally targeted civilians\" in the region by attacking seven commercial ships, an assault that left \"nearly a dozen civilian crew members killed, missing, or injured.\" The commander of Centcom made the claim in a statement issued late on Tuesday.\n\nIran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later confirmed the strikes in a statement on Telegram. It said two oil tankers had ignored warnings, switched off their navigation systems and tried to pass through a route that had been mined. It remained unclear which of the other attacks the Centcom statement was referring to, and the IRGC did not immediately comment on that point.\n\nA grim development also emerged. An Indian sailor who went missing after his ship was attacked off the coast of Oman last week was found dead, his family confirmed on Wednesday. The other 23 crew members aboard the Cypriot-flagged GFS Galaxy had been rescued on Sunday after the vessel was disabled. Centcom has blamed the IRGC for that attack, but Tehran has yet to respond.\n\nOil Prices Surge\nThe renewed strikes between the United States and Iran have driven a sharp rise in oil prices, as tanker traffic through the strait has virtually stalled. The situation has once again laid bare just how strategically important this waterway is. Iran accuses the United States of interfering in its management of Hormuz, but control over the passage also means Tehran can, if it chooses, put pressure on the entire global economy.\n\nOn Monday, Trump had declared that the United States was now the \"guardian\" of the Strait of Hormuz, and he had promised to impose a 20% charge on all cargo shipped through the passage to cover the cost of protecting it. Raising the stakes further, Trump had said Washington would reimpose a naval blockade on Iran to tighten the squeeze on its struggling economy.\n\nWithdrawing the Fee on Truth Social\nIn his latest post, Trump wrote on Truth Social, \"I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States. Those Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future.\" He offered no further details.\n\nTrump also said the strait \"is open to ALL Ship traffic except for Iran\" and that \"oil is flowing like never before, thanks to the awesome Power of the United States Military.\" Later, after talks in Washington with Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Trump said, \"I don't like the concept of a fee, but at the same time, it's not fair that we're protecting this Strait for the entire world.\" He said he had changed his initial fee plan after receiving numerous calls from Gulf leaders.\n\nIran's Firm Response\nIn response to Trump's announcement, Iran said it would remain in control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Trump's blockade decision had \"in a way, dismantled\" a truce deal that had been agreed earlier.\n\nGharibabadi told state television, \"If the US thinks that by tightening its measures against us, its military actions and its economic blockade, we will return to negotiations, it is making a mistake.\" The statement makes plain that Iran is in no mood to back down.\n\nA Long History of Blockade\nThe United States first imposed a naval blockade of all Iranian ports in April to pressure Tehran. Roughly five weeks later, the US military said it had redirected 100 commercial vessels and disabled four under the blockade.\n\nWashington lifted that blockade in June as part of an agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding, that was meant to bring the conflict to an end. But the dispute over the strait has since become the single biggest point of contention between the two countries. Current figures show that traffic through the passage has fallen to a two-month low, and the benchmark Brent Crude oil price has climbed sharply.\n\nA Warning of War Crimes\nUN human rights chief Volker Türk reacted strongly to Trump's threats. He said, \"Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime.\" It is worth noting that the 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites regarded as essential for civilians. Given that, Trump's warning to target power plants and bridges is certain to raise questions on the international stage.\n\nWhat this means for you\n• Across India: With tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stalling and Brent Crude climbing, prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas in India could come under direct pressure, since the country imports most of its oil.\n• For Indian seafarers: An Indian sailor has already died in the attacks on ships in this region, raising serious concerns about the safety of Indian maritime crews working the Gulf routes.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. What has Donald Trump threatened to do to Iran?\nTrump has said the United States will destroy all of Iran's power plants and bridges unless Tehran returns to negotiations by next week.\n\n2. In what context was the threat made?\nThe threat came as the United States and Iran were exchanging fire for the fourth consecutive day.\n\n3. How many Iranian personnel were killed in the US strikes?\nAccording to Iran's army, at least seven Iranian military personnel were killed in US strikes on a base in the south-eastern city of Bampur.\n\n4. What happened to the 20% fee?\nTrump announced that the 20% fee on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz would be replaced by large trade and investment deals with Gulf states.\n\n5. Was any Indian harmed in this conflict?\nYes, an Indian sailor who went missing after his ship was attacked off the coast of Oman was found dead, while the other 23 crew members aboard the GFS Galaxy were rescued.\n\n6. How did Iran respond to Trump's threat?\nIran said it would remain in control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the US was mistaken to think pressure would force Tehran back to talks.\n\n7. How did the United Nations react?\nUN human rights chief Volker Türk said that deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime under international law.\n\n8. What has been the effect on oil prices?\nThe renewed strikes brought tanker traffic to a near standstill, driving a sharp rise in oil prices and pushing the benchmark Brent Crude price up significantly.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/middle-east/iran-batachita-ki-meja-para-laute-ya-phira-bijalighara-aura-pula-rakha-honge-donald-trump-ki-khuli-dhamaki-7855",
  "category": "Middle East",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-15",
  "tags": [
    "Donald Trump",
    "Iran",
    "Strait of Hormuz",
    "US Iran tension",
    "oil prices",
    "naval blockade",
    "Middle East crisis"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}