President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric on Iran, repeating a series of public threats against the country's infrastructure while governments and international institutions attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In recent social media posts, Trump said the United States "hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran," and signalled further attacks would follow - naming "Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants." He added that Iran’s leadership "knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!" In a separate post, the president shared video footage of U.S. forces striking a newly constructed bridge between Tehran and the large northwest suburb of Karaj.
The bridge, identified as the B1 bridge, had been scheduled to open to traffic this year. Iran’s state media reported the U.S. strike killed eight people and wounded 95 others. Responding to the attack, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said in a statement: "Striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender."
Satellite imagery also showed smoke rising from the port in Qeshm, an island of strategic importance in the Strait of Hormuz, earlier this week.
The current confrontation has its roots in a joint U.S.-Israeli aerial assault that began nearly five weeks ago. Since then, the conflict has widened across the region, inflaming markets and increasing pressure on the White House to secure a rapid resolution.
U.S. officials say they have been negotiating through intermediaries with new leaders in Iran, but those channels have produced only limited signs of progress. In public remarks, the president offered no firm timeline for ending hostilities and reiterated threats against Iran’s civilian power infrastructure during a speech on Wednesday night.
Legal and humanitarian concerns are mounting. More than 100 American international law experts signed a letter saying the conduct of U.S. forces and statements by senior U.S. officials "raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes." The letter called particular attention to a mid-March remark by Trump that the U.S. may conduct strikes on Iran "just for fun," and to comments by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth in early March that the U.S. does not fight with "stupid rules of engagement."
Those warnings come as Iran has vowed retaliation for recent strikes and as global stock markets have reacted nervously. Oil prices surged on concerns that disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz would keep the waterway largely closed, exacerbating pressure on energy supplies.
Diplomatic efforts to restore freedom of navigation have so far produced limited results. Britain chaired a virtual meeting of about 40 countries to explore ways to reopen the strait, but the session did not yield a specific agreement, although participants agreed that all nations should have the right to use the waterway freely, one official said.
The U.N. Security Council is preparing to vote on a Bahraini resolution aimed at protecting commercial shipping in and around the strait. Diplomats said the vote is scheduled for Saturday. China, a permanent member of the Security Council, signalled opposition to calls that would authorize the use of force, with its U.N. envoy Fu Cong warning that any such 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."
Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli strikes that began on February 28. Tehran has proposed an alternative regime for the waterway, saying it is drafting a protocol with neighbouring Oman that would require ships to obtain permits and licences to pass. The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas pushed back on that proposal, stating that "International law doesn’t recognise pay-to-pass schemes."
Concerns are mounting that the conflict could give Tehran a chokehold over Middle East energy exports. Iran has demonstrated it can hinder traffic through the strait by targeting oil tankers and mounting attacks on Gulf countries that host U.S. troops. Gulf states, while reserving the right to self-defence, have refrained from military retaliation over the past month, seeking to avoid a broader and more destructive regional war.
Reports from within the region indicate the security situation remains volatile. Kuwait said its air defences were active twice on Friday to intercept missiles and drones.
The human toll is severe. Thousands of people have been killed and tens of thousands wounded across the Middle East since the war began. The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies delegation warned on Thursday that medical needs are rising exponentially and that supplies could run low.
Meanwhile, economic impacts are spreading. Fuel shortages have already caused strains across Asia and are expected to affect Europe soon. A report by two U.N. agencies cautioned that a sharp economic slowdown could trigger a cost-of-living crisis in Africa.
At this stage, diplomatic and legal channels are active but fragmented: intermediated negotiations show scant progress, a multinational meeting produced no actionable plan, and the U.N. Security Council faces a divided membership ahead of a vote. On the ground, attacks on infrastructure and ports, the imposition of potential permit schemes, and the continued closure of the strait are creating immediate challenges for energy markets, maritime commerce and humanitarian response.
The trajectory of the crisis remains uncertain. For now, governments, legal experts and relief agencies are bracing for further escalation while attempting to keep essential sea lanes and energy flows open.