Trump and Iran step up threats over energy targets as war escalates

The Iranian military on Sunday (March 22, 2026) threatened to completely shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz and attack U.S. infrastructure, including energy facilities in ‌the Gulf, if U.S. President Donald Trump acts on threats to target the country’s power plants.

Mr. Trump on Saturday (March 21) threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, suggesting a significant escalation barely a day after he talked about “winding down” the war, now in its fourth week.

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“If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Mr. Trump posted on social media on Saturday (March 21).

The strait has been effectively closed since the start of the war, sparked on February 28 by U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran. The conflict has since spread across West Asia, with Iran responding with drone and missile attacks on Israel and U.S. interests in the region.

“If the United States’ threats regarding Iran’s power plants are carried out... the Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed, and it will not be reopened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt,” the military’s operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement carried by state TV.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf wrote on X that critical infrastructure and energy facilities in West Asia could be “irreversibly destroyed” should Iranian power plants be ‌attacked.

The military command said it would also strike Israel’s “power plants, energy, and information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure”, along with power plants in regional countries hosting U.S. bases and companies with U.S. shareholders.

It added that the measures will be taken “to defend our country and the interests of our nation”.

The Islamic Republic’s power grid is deeply intertwined with its energy sector. Striking major plants could trigger blackouts, crippling everything from pumps and refineries to export terminals and military command centres. While some Gulf desert states such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE have access to more than one sea to draw water from for desalination, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait are crowded along the shoreline of the Gulf with no other coastline.

Earlier in the day, Iranian media reports quoted Iran’s representative to the U.N. maritime agency as saying that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to all shipping ‌except vessels linked to “Iran’s enemies”. Ali Mousavi’s comments came ‌from an interview published on Friday by the Chinese news agency Xinhua, ‌much before Mr. Trump’s ultimatum.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Parliament is mulling imposing tolls on shipping through the strait, with Speaker Ghalibaf saying maritime traffic would “not return to its pre-war status”.

Traffic through the vital strait, through which 20% of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, has been brought to a near-standstill since the start of the war that has so far killed over 2,000 people.

A relatively small number of vessels have been able to transit it—around 5% of its pre-war volume, according to analytics firm Kpler.

Iranian forces have attacked multiple vessels, saying they failed to heed “warnings” against transiting the waterway.

In recent days, Iran has allowed some vessels from countries it considers friendly to pass, while warning it would block ships from countries it says have joined the “aggression” against it.

Published - March 22, 2026 07:27 am IST

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