とIf, When, Whenever, And, [Conditional]

In the same way as the case marking particleと means 'and', sometimes it is translated as 'if'. In these cases, it is considered to be far stronger than ば, なら, or たら (which express hypothetical outcomes). This is because one of the primary uses of と is highlighting a result. In these cases, と is actually a conjunction particle, and shows one of three things.

仮定(かてい)の順接(じゅんせつ) - A result that is assumed to be true, and obvious.

確定(かくてい)の順接(じゅんせつ) - A result that is known to be true.

仮定(かてい)の逆接(ぎゃくせつ) - The opposite of a result that is assumed to be true.

Due to this, the (B) part of a phrase using と as 'if', will always occur when (A) happens, as it is considered to be the result of (A).

と may not be used in situations where the (B) result 'might' happen. It must be definite (or close to definite).

In this particular nuance of と, despite being translated as 'if', the actual meaning is much closer to 'and', as と is expressing that (A) and (B) will always go together.