US raids on Iranian territory and a border crossing with Iraq
The U.S. military announced Wednesday night that it would launch strikes on Iran for the 12th night, and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes were aimed at "further weakening Iran's ability to threaten civilian seafarers and commercial vessels transiting territorial waters."
Iran's Press TV Badawi reported several explosions in Serik in southern Iran, while authorities in Iran's Khuzestan province reported that a site in the vicinity of the provincial capital of Ahvaz had been hit by a US attack.
The deputy governor of Khuzestan for security and law enforcement affairs, Valiollah Hayati, announced in a statement to Iran's official IRNA news agency that an asphalt warehouse on the outskirts of the city of Ramshir had been hit by a US missile attack.
Iran's Mehr News Agency quoted a security official in Khuzestan, southwestern Iran, as saying that a US missile attack took place near the passenger terminal at the Shalamjeh border crossing with Iraq.
Trump threatens to bomb Iranian infrastructure
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (July 22) escalated his threats to Iran, vowing to bomb vital infrastructure, while Tehran responded by threatening to target energy facilities and infrastructure linked to US interests in the region if Washington carried out its threats, in conjunction with Iranian reports that Lark Island in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by a US missile attack.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States would bomb and destroy "a bridge or power plant in or near Tehran" if any ship in the Strait of Hormuz was attacked by a missile, drone or any other means, stressing that any future U.S. response would be "more severe and harsh" than before.
He added that the US deterrence policy will include targeting vital facilities of great importance, and the strikes may extend to the Iranian capital and its surroundings.
Trump's comments come after he announced the death of three additional U.S. soldiers in attacks he said Iran launched on U.S. bases in the Middle East, bringing the total number of U.S. military deaths in the ongoing escalation to 18.
Iran: We will respond in reciprocity
On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that any party that contributes, in any way, to any US attack on Iran will be considered a "legitimate target", stressing that "Iran's defense doctrine is based on the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth", and that any targeting of Iranian infrastructure will be met with a "strong and decisive response".
For his part, the speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said that if Iran is prevented from selling its oil, "no one will be able to sell oil in the region", stressing that "security is either inclusive for everyone or no one enjoys it". "If Iran's security is not achieved, no infrastructure will be safe," he said, adding that the security of the Strait of Hormuz is linked to the withdrawal of US troops, and that the situation in the strait "will not return to what it was before the war."
IRGC Navy: Our control over Hormuz is absolute
In the same context, the IRGC's naval forces warned against using any alternative shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing in a statement that the entrances and exits of the strait are "clearly defined and under our absolute control," and that the alternative routes are "unsafe and dangerous."
The statement added that the use of these routes could have "irreversible consequences."
In a development on the ground, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Lark Island in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by a US missile attack at 14:48 local time, which led to the hearing of violent explosions across the island, while the competent authorities began investigations to determine the location of the missile fall and the extent of the possible damage, without an official comment from the Iranian or American authorities.