Rubio Says Iran-Backed Houthis' Red Sea Blockade 'Problematic'

Iran War Day 145: Trump: U.S to Bomb Bridges and Power Plants if Iran’s Hormuz Attacks Continue President Donald Trump on Wednesday again threatened to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure after the 11th consecutive night of American strikes on the Islamic Republic.

In a Truth Social post Wednesday morning, Trump wrote that “any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. “will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT.” CENTCOM claimed Tuesday night that its latest round of strikes targeted “Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure.

” Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones at Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Iranian media reported that U.S. strikes hit parts of Iran’s electricity grid and water supply facilities. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that “strikes on power plants and transmission substations along the coast have knocked out cooling systems” and that residents of Khuzestan Province describe “rolling blackouts.

” Iran’s central military headquarters warned Tuesday that any U.S. attack on the country’s nuclear facilities would be considered an expansion of the war across the region and would be met with a “powerful” response. The statement came after Trump’s threat to bomb Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain “very heavily.

” Shipping tracking data from Kpler shows that there were only nine verified transits of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, and 13 verified crossings on Monday. Verified transits through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait also dropped Tuesday to 29 total, down 34 percent from the previous day.

Yemen’s Houthis have declared a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea. Subscribe Today Get daily emails in your inbox Axios reported Wednesday, citing a White House official and an Israeli source, that the U.S. and Israel are discussing a potential Oval Office meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week.

It would be Netanyahu’s seventh visit since Trump returned to office, which Axios notes is “more than any other world leader.” In a Wednesday press gaggle at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before flying to Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base to attend the dignified transfer of fallen American soldiers, Trump downplayed opposition to the war reflected in most opinion polls.

“Americans aren’t against the war,” he said.“Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. They just don’t want high gas prices!” The price of oil continued to rise, with Brent Crude above $95 per barrel on Wednesday morning.

Gas prices remained elevated, with AAA reporting the national average price of regular gas at $4.06.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday pledged to stage tit-for-tat bomb attacks on Iranian civil infrastructure every time Tehran fired at ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Here are the latest developments on Wednesday: World oil prices jumped with the benchmark international contract Brent North Sea crude surpassing $95 for the first time in nearly six weeks.

Crude futures went on to give up some of the gains but were still up around three percent. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have been recorded sending radio warnings to ships, the International Chamber of Shipping told AFP, after the rebels announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.

"We can confirm that the Houthis were recorded transmitting a warning message to ships in the region," the ICS said. US President Donald Trump threatened to knock out one Iranian bridge or power plant in return for each attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, warning he was "not finished" with a war that has already cost Washington $37.

5 billion. "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.

The US military struck Iran's Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Tasnim news agency said the extent of the damage was being investigated. Tyre, an ancient Phoenician city in southern Lebanon bombarded by Israel over recent months, was added to the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in danger.

Bulgaria's parliament voted to allow the United States to base refuelling planes in the country. Bulgaria will authorise the deployment of up to eight KC-135 tanker aircraft and up to 250 military personnel, tasked with supporting operations in the Middle East.

They will be stationed at Bezmer Air Base in the southeast, from July 24 to October 1. The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles, while two others fell in an open area. "Air defence systems today detected six missiles coming from Iranian territory," the army said in a statement, adding that it "intercepted and downed four missiles, while the other two fell in two remote, uninhabited areas, without causing any human casualties or material damage".

Iran again denied the existence of any secret nuclear complex at Kolang mountain on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump threatened to strike the site in the centre of the country. "Washington's obsessive focus on Kolang Kouh where no nuclear activity is taking place is nothing more than a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on X.

Lebanon is working towards a "complete Israeli withdrawal" from areas it occupies, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on a visit to a village where Lebanon's army recently deployed. Under a US-sponsored agreement signed last month, Lebanon's army is meant to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from "pilot zones" where Lebanese forces will subsequently deploy.

Dubai will offer more than $800 worth of discounts and deals to residents who bring friends and family to visit, the emirate's media office said, as months of war have battered its tourism sector. The programme will run until the end of October. Summers are usually a low season for tourists in the United Arab Emirates, a mostly desert country where temperatures can reach 50C.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that Israel has no interest in joining the confrontation between Iran and the United States and described the current situation as the best for Israel. The remarks were delivered at the Katif Conference for National Responsibility.

Smotrich leads the Religious Zionism party and holds a position in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

Aqaba, Jordan's Red Sea port city, has seen reduced tourism and commercial activity in recent months. Local merchant Mohammed stated that the situation has affected businesses and import-export trade. Jordanian military statements reported interception of missiles entering national airspace, while Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed missile and drone strikes on U.

S. assets in Jordan.