In what can only be described as a masterclass in diplomatic subtlety, President Donald Trump has threatened to expand U.S. strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran doesn't agree to a deal. Speaking to Fox News, Trump said, "Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate." This, despite the 1949 Geneva Conventions explicitly prohibiting attacks on sites essential for civilians. But hey, who's counting?

Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have declared that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until "the end of America's evils," according to Reuters. They also claimed to have attacked Kuwait's Mina Abdullah and targeted U.S. military facilities at Jordan's Azraq base for a second time. The Guardian could not immediately verify these claims, but Kuwait's air defenses are reportedly busy intercepting Iranian attack drones, and sirens have sounded in Bahrain.

U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said the latest strikes aimed to "degrade Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping" in the strait, where Tehran has repeatedly attacked civilian vessels. Adm. Brad Cooper claimed Iran intentionally targeted civilians, attacking seven commercial ships in the past week and resulting in "nearly a dozen civilian crew members killed, missing or injured."

The U.S. has also reimposed a naval blockade and slapped fresh sanctions on an Iranian shipping network run by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said is "shutting down the financial infrastructure that allows the regime to continue its threats."

Back in the U.S., Senate Democrats blocked the advancement of a defense bill, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declaring, "Donald Trump is dragging America deeper into a war in Iran with no authorization, no plan, and no exit strategy. Democrats will not go along." He added that they won't proceed "as if business is usual while our servicemembers' lives are at risk and Trump drives costs for groceries and gas out of control."

Trump, undeterred, told Fox News that strikes will continue until "I say it's enough," noting that Iran "has some fight left but they don't have much." Meanwhile, boys play along the shallow waters of the Strait of Hormuz as plumes of smoke rise in the background. Just another day in the Middle East.