Iran has warned that any attack on its infrastructure will trigger a “powerful and decisive response”, as US President Donald Trump claimed Tehran wants to negotiate despite the continuing military confrontation.
The latest exchange comes amid heightened tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, where maritime disruptions have intensified concerns over regional security and global oil supplies.
Iran warns supporters of attacks could become targets
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said any aggression against the country, including strikes on civilian infrastructure, would be met with retaliation.
“Our defense doctrine is clear: eye for an eye. Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response. Those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets,” Araghchi wrote on X.
Our defense doctrine is clear: eye for an eye.
Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response.
Those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 22, 2026
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also warned that regional infrastructure would not remain secure if Iran’s security was threatened.
“The equation of this war is clear: either all or none. In a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil. If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe,” he said, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would not return to its pre-war situation.
Strait of Hormuz remains flashpoint
Iran’s state broadcaster Press TV, citing the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, reported that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and that vessels can only pass through designated routes under previously announced arrangements.
According to the report, the headquarters warned that if US threats against Iran’s civilian infrastructure were carried out, Iranian forces would prevent oil exports through the region and target oil, gas, electricity and economic infrastructure.
Press TV also quoted the headquarters as saying that continued US threats would only expand the conflict across the region and beyond.
Trump says Iran wants a deal
Speaking in Marietta, Georgia, Trump described the conflict as a “skirmish” and claimed Iran would soon return to negotiations.
“This skirmish that we have with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and I call it that because let me tell you they’re getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal,” Trump said.
“They’re not ready to make a deal because every time they make a deal they want to change it… They’ll be ready very soon,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Trump attended the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base for four US service members killed in connection with the ongoing conflict. During the Georgia event, he also honoured the family of Lt. Tyler Feehan.
US maintains military pressure
Trump has recently warned that Washington would strike Iranian infrastructure if commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked.
“Any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz… the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” he wrote on social media.
On Tuesday, he also signalled that US operations would continue.
“We’re not finished at all… we’re not leaving right now,” Trump said.
The conflict around the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted oil shipments and pushed Brent crude prices higher, adding to fuel price concerns in the United States.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the military campaign has so far cost USD 37.5 billion while defending the administration’s request for additional emergency military funding.
Despite the increasingly hostile rhetoric, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington remained willing to pursue negotiations with Tehran.
“We remain open to working it out in a negotiated way. But right now, they don’t seem to be serious about that,” Rubio said during a visit to Manila.