ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran on Wednesday declared an "eye for an eye" approach in its ongoing war with the United States, warning that no regional country will be able to sell its oil if Tehran is not allowed to, nor will its infrastructure be safe if Iranian security is not ensured.
The escalatory rhetoric comes hours after US President Donald Trump said his country would target a bridge or power plant in Iran for every vessel Tehran targets in the Strait of Hormuz.
"The equation of this war is clear: all, or none!" Iran's chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a statement posted on X.
"In a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil," and "if our security is not guaranteed, no infrastructure will be safe," he added.
Ghalibaf further noted that the security of the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on "the absence of US forces," reiterating, "We have said many times that the situation in the Strait will not return to what it was before the war."
Shortly after, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi echoed Ghalibaf's remarks, stating, "Our defense doctrine is clear: eye for an eye."
Tehran's chief diplomat said that "any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response," further warning that "those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets."
Earlier on Wednesday, US President Trump warned, "From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz - whether by missile, rocket, drone, or any other device or weapon - the United States will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant."
In a statement posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump added that targets would include "those located next to, or in, the capital city of Tehran."
The remarks came a day after the US president cautioned that his country would strike a deeply buried underground nuclear complex Iran is allegedly preparing at Pickaxe Mountain in central Isfahan province, adjacent to the Natanz nuclear facility - which US and Israeli military strikes targeted during the 12-day war in June 2025 and again earlier this year.
"We would absolutely attack ... the new site that they're talking about," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, reiterating that Iran "cannot have a nuclear weapon."
The sharp rhetoric by senior American and Iranian officials was also mirrored by the military of both sides.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday said its forces "completed the 11th consecutive evening of strikes against Iran" overnight, accusing Tehran of attacking more than 30 commercial vessels transiting Hormuz and saying the attacks "have endangered hundreds of innocent mariners and undermined freedom of navigation."
Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday that "in retaliation" for the US strikes, its forces struck US assets in Jordan and Kuwait.
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