France, July 15 -- While US President Donald Trump backtracked on his threat to heavily tax ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, he warned he would expand US strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not agree to a deal.

"Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges," Trump said in an interview on Fox News. "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."

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest strikes were aimed at "degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping" in the strait, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas...