Trump threatens Iran to destroy its power plants if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz

BarcelonaUS President Donald Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran on Saturday night, demanding the complete reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil trade. Otherwise, he threatened to attack the country's nuclear facilities. The Iranian regime, however, far from backing down, warned that if Washington follows through on its threat, it will not only completely close the strait but also attack desalination plants, businesses, and infrastructure in the region linked to the United States or Israel. Beyond the exchange of threats, on Sunday Israel took another step toward its goal of invading southern Lebanon. It bombed the main highway in the south of the country, destroying the Litani River bridge that connects Tyre, the region's largest city, to the rest of Lebanon. "These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, and are considered a prelude to a ground invasion," Lebanese President Joseph Aoun declared.

"If Iran does not fully open the Strait of Hormuz without threats within 48 hours from this moment, the United States will attack and destroy its various power plants, starting with the largest," President Trump warned in a message posted Saturday night on the Truth Social network.

The Strait of Hormuz, the only maritime passage between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, carries 20% of global crude oil exports. Since the start of the war, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been trying to prevent ships carrying goods to the United States and Israel from passing through. This has drastically reduced cargo traffic through Hormuz and driven up the price of crude oil. Trump has asked NATO member countries and some of its Asian allies, such as South Korea and Japan, to participate in a military mission to guarantee safe passage through the strait. So far, no country has expressed a willingness to deploy troops to the area.

Tehran's response

The Iranian armed forces have responded to Trump's ultimatum by threatening to "completely" close the Strait of Hormuz and attack energy and information technology infrastructure in Israel, as well as power plants in countries in the region where there are US bases or companies with US participation. This, logically, directly affects the Gulf states, already particularly hard hit by Iran with repeated missile and drone attacks.

"The Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will not be reopened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt," declared Ebrahim Zolfagari, spokesman for the central headquarters Khatam al-Anbiya, which coordinates the Iranian armed forces. He added: "Everything is prepared for a major jihad with the objective of completely destroying all US economic interests in the region."

For his part, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared on Sunday that threats against the territorial integrity of the Persian country "only strengthen" national unity. However, the war is causing real devastation in Iran, and the country's authorities reported on Sunday that at least 210 children have died there since the conflict began, and nearly 300 health centers, hospitals, and emergency services have been damaged.

Israel's intervention in southern Lebanon, under the pretext of limiting the movements of the Shiite group Hezbollah, is also proving disastrous. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered fighter jets on Sunday morning to "immediately" destroy all bridges over the Litani River, with the aim of completely isolating southern Lebanon from the rest of the country. He also stated that the Israeli army intends to "accelerate the destruction of homes" in Lebanese border towns, "following the model of Beit Hanoun and Rafah in Gaza," alluding to the two cities in the Strip that were practically wiped off the map during the Israeli offensive. A few hours later, Israel made good on its threats. One of the main bridges over the Litani River was blown up.