US starts more strikes on Iranian military targets, Iran warns to stop oil exports

U.S. forces launched more strikes against Iranian military targets on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Central Command, reported Xinhua.

The latest airstrikes began at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, the command announced on X.

"The mission will continue to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters," said the command.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to destroy a bridge or power plant in Iran each time it shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

"From this point forward, 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, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In response, Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, on Wednesday warned that if the United States attacks Iranian infrastructure, Iran will block all oil exports from West Asia and target oil, gas, electricity, and economic infrastructure across the region, according to media reports.

It added that continued threats by the United States will only lead to the war's expansion in the region and even beyond that.

As many as 68 percent of U.S. adults said the war with Iran was "not worth fighting," while 28 percent said it was, according to a The Washington Post-Ipsos poll issued last week.

Meanwhile, Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, on Wednesday warned that if the United States attacks Iranian infrastructure, Iran will block all oil exports from West Asia and target oil, gas, electricity, and economic infrastructure across the region, according to media reports.

The warning in a statement carried by Iranian media came in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed threat of "bombing" Iran's bridges and power plants.

In a Wednesday post on Truth Social, Trump stated that any Iranian attack on ships in the Strait of Hormuz would trigger U.S. strikes on "ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran."

Iran's main military command stressed that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and passage by vessels will be authorized only through the routes designated by Iran and in accordance with the country's announced arrangements.

It added that continued threats by the United States will only lead to the war's expansion in the region and even beyond that.

In response to Trump's threat, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a Wednesday post on social media platform X, "Our defense doctrine is clear: eye for an eye. Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response."

He added, "Those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets."

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf echoed the stance on X: "This war's equation is clear: either everybody or no one."

Qalibaf said that in a region where Iran cannot sell oil, nobody will sell oil.

"If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe, and the security of the Strait of Hormuz lies in the absence of U.S. forces," he warned.

Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz beginning Feb. 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian territory.

The United States has over the past days launched multiple waves of strikes against Iran's southern provinces, claiming that the attacks are in response to the Iranian armed forces' targeting of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and aimed at "degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping."

Iran has responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting U.S. military bases and facilities in the region.

Trump attends return of 4 US soldiers killed in Iran war

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and attended the dignified transfer of four US service members killed in connection with the ongoing war with Iran, reported ANI, quoting CNN.

The US President was also accompanied by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine during the dignified transfer.

Trump was scheduled to meet privately with the families of the fallen service members before the transfer ceremony. A White House official said this was the third dignified transfer the president has attended since the war began.

Speaking to reporters before departing from Joint Base Andrews, Trump said the ceremony was intended to honour the sacrifice of the troops.

"We honour our heroes, and they are indeed great heroes. Actually, they said, and all of them said very strongly, we can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Emphasising the solemn responsibility of receiving the remains of fallen service members, Trump added, "For me, it's one of the hardest things to do as a president, but has to be done."

Asked what he would tell the families during the private meetings, Trump said, "All I'm going to say is, we love you. We love your child, and that's what they are to them. They're their children. No games, no nothing."

According to CNN, the four service members are among the 18 US troops killed in connection with the conflict with Iran.

The fallen include Lt. Tyler Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, who was killed on July 18 in Jordan while serving with the 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Command based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, who had graduated from high school last spring before enlisting in the Army, was killed in the July 17 strikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, according to the US Department of Defense.

Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was killed on July 19 during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone in Iraq, the Defense Department said.

The fourth service member, Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, was also killed during the same strike in Jordan. She served as a 25U Signal Operations Support Specialist with the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, stationed in Ansbach, Germany.

CNN reported that three of the four service members were killed in an Iranian strike on a military base in Jordan, while Swinton died during a controlled detonation operation involving a downed Iranian drone in northern Iraq.

Asked about the circumstances surrounding the deaths, Trump declined to comment on the ongoing investigation but said Iran would face consequences.

"They're being decimated," Trump said, adding that there was an investigation into the incident in Jordan and that Iran would "pay a big price," CNN reported.