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In a Truth Social post Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump suggested that he would respond to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz by bombing civilian infrastructure in Iran, which would constitute a war crime.
“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.
Deliberately targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure constitutes a war crime under international law. While Iran may itself be engaging in such crimes by targeting non-military ships passing through the strait, the action of one country does not negate other countries from having to acknowledge and abide by those laws.
This is the latest in a series of threats Trump has made that suggest a willingness to disregard international standards. In early April, for example, Trump similarly promised to target civilian structures.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped in one, in Iran,” Trump wrote on April 5.
Two days later, Trump threatened genocidal action against Iran, writing, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
More recently, this week Trump promised a disproportionate response to American soldier deaths, another potential violation of international humanitarian law.
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“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
Notably, the administration has already targeted civilian infrastructure in multiple strikes on Iran, including by bombing an elementary school in Minab in the early days of the war, killing 168 people.
In addition to potentially violating international law, Trump appears to be flouting U.S. law, as the Constitution stipulates that only Congress can make declarations of war, and the War Powers Act of 1973 sets strict time limits for how long a military action taken by a president can last — limits that the Trump administration has chosen to ignore.
The recent commentary from Trump underscores how the war in Iran has escalated in recent days, following the deterioration of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the country that was agreed to by both sides last month. At that time, Trump heralded the MOU as having “achiev[ed everything we set out to accomplish, everything and much more.”
In addition to threatening to strike civilian infrastructure, Trump also vowed this week to bomb Kolang Mountain (sometimes referred to as “Pickaxe Mountain”), a site where the U.S. and Israel claim Iran is currently keeping nuclear material.
“We’ll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon. There’s not a thing they can do about it,” Trump said.
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