Former U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a new warning to Iran, stating that any Iranian attack on a vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz will trigger an immediate U.S. military response. In a social media post, Trump said that from now on, if Iran strikes a ship in the strategic waterway—using missiles, rockets, drones, or any other weapon system—the United States will retaliate by bombing and destroying “a bridge or a power generation plant.”
He added that potential targets could include facilities located near—or even within—Iran’s capital, Tehran.
Meanwhile, Iran’s state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported today (July 22, 2026) that U.S. forces struck Larak Island—a small island in the Strait of Hormuz at the center of escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington. According to Tasnim, an American missile hit the southern part of the island at 2:48 p.m. local time (1:48 p.m. Greek time), prompting reports of a powerful explosion nearby. Iranian authorities are reportedly assessing the extent of damage and impact.
In a separate development, Iran again denied allegations of secret nuclear activity at the Kolang mountain site in central Iran—a location previously threatened with U.S. strikes by Trump. Speaking on X, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei dismissed Washington’s fixation on Kolang as “a transparent pretext to justify aggression, destruction, and sabotage.” He emphasized that all of Iran’s nuclear activities are fully declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
On Tuesday, July 21, Trump told reporters at the White House that U.S. forces would likely strike the Kolang area “very soon,” adding, “And they can’t do anything about it.”
The Kolang site—sometimes referred to in Western media as ‘Mount Pike’—is reportedly located near the Natanz nuclear facility, which was bombed by U.S. forces in June 2025. Natanz has returned to the spotlight since the outbreak of hostilities at the end of February.