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Trump Threatens Iran’s Power Grid as Tehran Targets Gulf Energy and Water Sites

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Tehran vowed to treat power plants, desalination facilities and other “vital infrastructure” across the Middle East as legitimate targets after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power grid unless it fully reopens the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.aljazeera +1 The exchange marked one of the most severe escalations in a war that has already killed more than 2,000 people since late February.reuters

Trump issued his ultimatum on Saturday night, warning on social media that if Iran does not “FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT” the vital waterway, the U.S. will begin by destroying the country’s largest power plants.nbcnews Tehran responded within hours: Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that any strike on Iranian power facilities would trigger “irreversible” attacks on regional energy and oil infrastructure, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely closed” until any destroyed plants were rebuilt.aljazeera +1

How an Infrastructure War Could Reshape the Gulf

Iranian officials went beyond threats to U.S. assets, explicitly naming energy, information technology and water desalination facilities “belonging to the US and the regime in the region” as targets if Iran’s own fuel and power sites are hit.reuters That language pointed directly at Gulf allies that host U.S. forces and whose economies depend on coastal desalination and export terminals.

The risks are acute because several Gulf states obtain most of their drinking water from seawater plants: desalination provides 100% of potable water in Bahrain and Qatar, more than 80% in the United Arab Emirates and about half in Saudi Arabia.reuters Analysts warned that disabling such facilities, together with major power stations, could rapidly make key cities uninhabitable in peak heat, turning an already destructive conflict into a regional humanitarian emergency and forcing governments to choose between aligning more closely with Washington or pressing for an immediate ceasefire.aljazeera +1

Energy Markets on Edge as Hormuz Stays Choked

The Strait of Hormuz usually carries around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, and weeks of disruption since the U.S.-Israel strikes began on 28 February have already erased the equivalent of four days of global oil supply, or some 440 million barrels.reuters +1 Brent crude futures closed near $112 a barrel on Friday — the highest level since July 2022 — and traders braced for further gains as the ultimatum’s 48‑hour clock ticked down.reuters +1

Market analysts said Trump’s post had placed a “ticking time bomb of elevated uncertainty” over prices, with spot contracts spiking while longer-dated futures stayed comparatively anchored.bbc A prolonged closure of Hormuz, or serious damage to Gulf export terminals, could push oil well above $100 for months and delay major liquefied natural gas projects, particularly in Qatar, according to energy think tanks.bbc International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol has warned that restoring disrupted Gulf supplies could take up to six months if infrastructure is heavily hit.reuters

The Bigger Picture

European leaders, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, urged all sides to halt attacks on energy and water infrastructure and restore freedom of navigation, warning that the widening war now threatens global economic stability as well as regional security.aljazeera +1 With Iran signaling “zero restraint” if its grid is struck and Washington showing no public sign of softening its ultimatum, the next two days are set to test not only the resilience of Gulf infrastructure but also the capacity of outside powers to prevent a localized conflict from becoming a systemic shock to energy markets and civilian life across the Middle East.aljazeera +2