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Trump Threatens Iran with Strikes on Power Plants over Strait of Hormuz Closure

Trump Threatens Iran with Strikes on Power Plants over Strait of Hormuz Closure
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President Donald Trump gave Iran 48 hours to “fully open, without threat” the Strait of Hormuz or face U.S. strikes to “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants, in an ultimatum that risked pulling the Middle East war into a new, more dangerous phase theguardian +1. The threat came as the partial closure of the vital oil chokepoint had already driven global benchmark crude up about 50% and removed an estimated 400 million barrels of supply from world markets ndtv.

Trump posted the warning late Saturday, saying U.S. forces would begin targeting Iran’s largest power plants “starting with the biggest one first” if commercial shipping was not restored within 48 hours theguardian +1. Tehran’s powerful Khatam al‑Anbiya military command replied that any attack on Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure would trigger strikes on U.S. energy, IT and desalination facilities across the region, underscoring the risk of tit‑for‑tat blows to civilian systems on both sides theguardian +1.

A High-Stakes Gamble Over a Vital Oil Chokepoint

The ultimatum was the most explicit linkage yet between freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and direct attacks on Iran’s domestic power grid, including plants such as the 2,868‑megawatt Damavand and the 1,000‑megawatt Bushehr nuclear station identified by analysts as likely targets theguardian +1. Iran has already used missiles, mines and drones to disrupt traffic through the 21‑mile‑wide waterway, through which roughly a fifth of global seaborne oil and LNG normally flows ndtv +1.

Western officials said the conflict’s first three weeks — which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28 — had badly damaged regional energy infrastructure and shipping, prompting some tankers to anchor or reroute and knocking out an estimated 12.8 million tonnes per year of Qatari LNG exports for up to five years ndtv. The International Energy Agency coordinated the release of 400 million barrels from emergency reserves and warned that further escalation around Hormuz could deepen a “nightmare scenario” for oil and gas markets ndtv.

Legal and Diplomatic Fallout as Allies Keep Their Distance

Trump’s threat to destroy civilian power plants drew rapid scrutiny from legal experts, who noted that international humanitarian law places strict limits on attacks against civilian infrastructure and installations containing “dangerous forces” such as nuclear power stations ieu-monitoring. John B. Bellinger III, a former U.S. State Department legal adviser, said whether the president had authority under U.S. law and the UN Charter to wage such strikes — especially without fresh congressional authorization — was “highly debatable” unctad.

Key U.S. allies signaled unease with any move to broaden the war to Iran’s electricity grid, with European governments stressing de‑escalation and maritime security while stopping short of endorsing Trump’s 48‑hour deadline ndtv +1. Analysts at Chatham House and the International Institute for Strategic Studies warned that hitting power plants could cause mass civilian suffering and set a precedent for targeting energy systems in future conflicts, while offering no clear path to regime change or a negotiated end to the war foxbusiness. “You don’t do regime change from the air,” Chatham House director Bronwen Maddox wrote, arguing that such strikes risk entrenching, rather than weakening, Iran’s hardliners foxbusiness.

The Bigger Picture

The ultimatum compressed a complex regional war — spanning nuclear facilities, missile exchanges and proxy attacks — into a 48‑hour countdown centered on the world’s most important oil corridor. Whether Iran yields on Hormuz, calls Washington’s bluff, or stumbles into miscalculation will shape not only the trajectory of the U.S.–Iran conflict but also energy prices, inflation and political stability far beyond the Gulf. With oil above $110 a barrel and jet fuel in Europe near $220, governments from Asia to Europe are already rationing fuel and bracing voters for higher costs ndtv. The next two days will test how much risk Washington, Tehran and their wary allies are willing to take to defend shipping lanes — and how close the world is prepared to move toward open attacks on civilian infrastructure as a tool of coercive diplomacy.