ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran on Thursday accused Washington of having an "insatiable appetite" for war after threats to target Iranian infrastructure and power plants, saying such a policy would violate international humanitarian law and be in breach of the US War Crimes Act.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said that the American military will destroy "one bridge or power plant" in Iran every time the Islamic Republic targets a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian infrastructure has repeatedly been targeted by the US military, with bridges across the country having been destroyed and, in a least one isntance, leading to civilian casualties.

Similarly, the under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant was bombed by the US on Sunday, leading Iran to condemn what it termed the "silence and indifference" of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the matter.

“A policy that calls for the destruction of bridges and power plants is manifestly unlawful and criminal,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei wrote on X on Thursday.

He described it as prohibited under international humanitarian law, arguing that it amounts to "reprisal and collective punishment," while citing the US War Crimes Act.

The US War Crimes Act is a federal criminal statute that allows for the prosecution of US nationals and military personnel accused of committing certain war crimes, including grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions (such as willful killing, torture, and inhumane treatment of protected persons).

US service members "have both a legal and moral duty to refuse manifestly unlawful orders," he said, adding that “citing superior orders to justify war crimes does not absolve the perpetrators of criminal liability” and that "there is no statute of limitations for these offenses."

Baghaei further accused Washington of having an "insatiable appetite for war and slaughter."

Washington’s rhetoric comes amid increased US frustration with Iranian attacks on commercial transit in the strategic waterway, with such strikes having served as the casus belli that triggered renewed US bombardment of Iran and the rupture of their bilateral memorandum of understanding.

The developments follow as the US and Iran have exchanged strikes for more than ten consecutive nights after Washington declared an end to the peace deal, accusing Tehran of violating the ceasefire.

The US has mainly targeted sites in southern Iran near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while Iran has launched attacks against regional countries hosting what it alleges are US military bases.