Trump, Tehran Exchange Threats --- Iran to hit interests in region if plants are struck after president demands open strait

“Iran said it would target critical infrastructure if President Trump follows through on his weekend threat to "obliterate" the nation's power plants if Tehran didn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days.

 

The escalating rhetoric set off alarm bells across the Middle East, with oil-exporting Gulf countries saying that Iranian reprisals could further endanger the world economy.

 

The U.S. president's threat came in a Saturday evening social-media post.

 

"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!" Trump posted.

 

Tehran said it would respond in kind to any attack on its critical infrastructure. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi posted on X that the U.S.'s threat raised issues under international law.

 

"An explicit threat to target power plants and vital infrastructure goes beyond a mere political statement; under international law, it concerns civilian objects," he wrote, citing principles of international humanitarian law that he said prohibit deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure.

 

While power plants are generally considered to be civilian infrastructure, current and former U.S. military officials said that an adversary's electrical infrastructure can sometimes qualify as a legitimate military target.

 

Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran's military joint command, said that after such an attack, the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the global oil supply typically flows, would be "fully closed" until damaged power plants are restored.

 

"If the enemy damages our power plants, nothing can stop us from continuing our operations to destroy the energy, oil, and industrial infrastructure of the United States and its allies in the region," an Iranian military official said, according to state media.

 

An Iranian official also was quoted as saying on Sunday that Tehran allows transit through the Strait of Hormuz for vessels that have coordinated with the Islamic Republic and that aren't owned by Tehran's enemies.

 

The strait is "open to everyone" except Iran's adversaries, Tehran's permanent representative to the International Maritime Organization, Ali Mousavi, told the Mehr news agency, which is affiliated with Iranian security services.

 

Iran has previously said its foes are the U.S., Israel and their allies, without naming them all, and that the transit of ships from those countries is banned.

 

President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran defined his country's policy more precisely on Sunday. "The Strait of Hormuz is open to all except those who violate our soil," he said on social media.

 

Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone Sunday and "agreed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was essential to ensure stability in the global energy market," the prime minister's office said. Trump has previously criticized Starmer as being slow to offer support for the war.

 

The regional threat level for shipping is at its highest "critical" level across the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center said on Sunday, adding that attacks have targeted a wide range of vessel types and flag states.

 

Since the war with Iran began, more than 20 incidents involving commercial vessels and offshore infrastructure have been reported, according to UKMTO, which is affiliated with Britain's Royal Navy. There has been no consistent link of attacks to Western ownership, indicating a campaign aimed at broad maritime disruption rather than selective targeting, it added.

 

Countries that are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are "coming together" to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, with the U.K. leading a multinational effort, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Sunday.

 

"It is only logical that European countries needed a couple of weeks to come together," Rutte said on CBS News. The group of 22 countries includes mostly NATO members in addition to Australia, Bahrain, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates, Rutte said.

 

Trump, a Republican, has vacillated between saying the war with Iran is winding down and that the U.S. will continue to strike Iranian targets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, said that the U.S. must "escalate to de-escalate" when asked whether the president plans to slow the war in Iran.

 

Asked on NBC about the president's divergent sentiments, Bessent said, "It's not mutually exclusive." He said the president can wind up the war at any time but he has been clear about goals, including to destroy Iran's air force, navy, and missile capabilities. "He'll take whatever steps it takes to achieve those goals."

 

Meanwhile, Israel was investigating how two Iranian missiles slipped past its defenses and injured more than 100 civilians in two separate weekend incidents. Both of the incidents involved direct hits by conventional ballistic missiles on cities in southern Israel, Arad and Dimona, Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said.

 

Michael Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., said on Sunday that destroying Iranian infrastructure isn't off the table, indicating it depends on how long the regime lasts.

 

Asked on CNN about Trump's threat to Iran's power plants, Leiter said the war is moving forward on "two parallel tracks."

 

"If we are going to take down this regime, we want to leave everything in the country intact so that the people who come after this regime are going to be able to rebuild and reconstitute," Leiter said, before adding, "If we leave this regime in place, we want to take down all the infrastructure."

 

The number of ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to seven a week from typically around 100 before the war, according to commodities-data provider Kpler. While most ships now passing are Iranian oil tankers, others have included a cargo of crude loaded in the U.A.E. and bound for Pakistan.

 

Iran has been collecting a $2 million transit fee from some ships passing through Hormuz, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the national-security and foreign-policy commission in Iran's parliament, told state broadcaster IRIB on Sunday. His claim couldn't be verified.

 

Persian Gulf Arab countries are warning the Trump administration that targeting Iran's power plants would invite reprisals, officials familiar with the matter said. Officials from several Gulf states have been angry for days that they don't have any influence with the U.S. administration, the officials said.

 

Multiple attempts by Arab officials to start peace talks with Iran and the U.S. have failed, they said. The demands by Iran include compensation, guarantees that the war won't be restarted and an end to U.S. military bases in the Gulf, they said.” [1]

 

1. Trump, Tehran Exchange Threats --- Iran to hit interests in region if plants are struck after president demands open strait. Lukpat, Alyssa; Said, Summer; Faucon, Benoit.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 Mar 2026: A1.