US vows to target more Iranian infrastructure sites

President Donald Trump sharply escalated his rhetoric on Iran, declaring the US “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran” as governments around the world scrambled to restore crucial energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Nearly five weeks after the conflict erupted with a joint US-Israeli aerial assault, the war in Iran is still sending shockwaves across the region and through global financial markets, intensifying pressure on Mr Trump to secure a rapid end to the fighting.

In recent days, Mr Trump has hardened his public stance as indirect negotiations with Iran’s new leadership have shown only limited signs of movement.

The US military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants,” Mr Trump wrote on social media late last night, adding that Iran’s leadership “knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!”

The B1 bridge had been due to open to traffic this year. Iran’s state media said the US strike killed eight people and wounded 95 others.

“Striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender,” Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a statement.

Satellite imagery earlier this week also showed smoke billowing from the port in Qeshm, the Iranian island that sits at a strategic point in the Strait of Hormuz.

Its reopening has become an urgent concern for governments around the ⁠world as energy prices climb.

Mr Trump later said the US could reopen the Strait ⁠of Hormuz if given a little more time, as calls grow for his administration to bring the war with Iran to a swift conclusion.

“With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZSTRAIT, TAKE THE OIL,& MAKE A FORTUNE,” Trump said in ‌a post on Truth ⁠Social.

Watch: Smoke rises from bridge in Iran hit by strikes

Concerns over potential war crimes

More than 100 American experts in international law said the actions of US forces and remarks by senior US officials “raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes”.

In a letter, the signatories pointed in particular to a mid-March remark from Mr Trump in which he said the US might strike Iran “just for fun”. They also referenced comments from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth in early March saying the US does not fight with “stupid rules of engagement”.

Yesterday Donald Trump shared footage on social media showing smoke rising from the B1 bridge in Karaj

Speaking on Wednesday night, Mr Trump renewed his threats against Iran’s civilian power plants and offered no clear timetable for ending the conflict. The remarks prompted fresh vows of retaliation from Iran, dragged on global share prices and drove oil prices higher amid fears the Strait of Hormuz would remain largely shut.

Britain chaired a virtual meeting yesterday involving about 40 countries to examine ways of restoring freedom of navigation, but one official said the talks ended without a specific agreement, despite broad support for the principle that all nations should be able to use the waterway freely.

Security council vote

Diplomats said the UN Security Council is due to vote tomorrow on a Bahraini resolution aimed at protecting commercial shipping in and around the strait, though veto-holding China has already made clear it opposes authorising any use of force.

Any military action would be “legitimising the unlawful and indiscriminate use of force, which would inevitably lead to further escalation of the situation and lead to serious consequences,” China’s UN envoy Fu Cong told the Security Council.

Iran has effectively closed the strait, which in normal times carries about a fifth of the world’s oil trade, in response to the US-Israeli attacks that began on 28 February.

Tehran has offered a rival plan for future oversight of the waterway, saying it is drafting a protocol with neighbouring Oman that would require ships to secure permits and licences.

Donald Trump urged nations grappling with fuel shortages to source oil through the Hormuz Strait

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, pushed back on Tehran’s proposal, saying Iran could not be allowed to demand payment from countries for safe passage.

“International law doesn’t recognise pay-to-pass schemes,” Ms Kallas wrote on social media.

Stranglehold on energy

There are growing fears the conflict could leave Iran holding a stranglehold over Middle East energy supplies after demonstrating it can obstruct the Strait of Hormuz by targeting oil tankers and attacking Gulf states that host US troops.

Gulf states say they retain the right to self-defence, but they have so far avoided military retaliation after repeated Iranian attacks over the past month, seeking to prevent the crisis from spiralling into a much more devastating all-out Middle East war.

Kuwait said its air defences were working to intercept missiles and drones twice this morning.

Across the Middle East, thousands have been killed and tens of thousands wounded since the war began. The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies delegation warned that medical needs were rising exponentially and that supplies could begin to run short.

Fuel shortages have already put economies under strain across Asia and are expected to hit Europe soon, while a report from two UN agencies warned that a sharp economic slowdown could trigger a cost-of-living crisis in Africa.