Trump issues ultimatum to Iran
US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened to shipping within 48 hours.
Iran has kept the vital waterway closed to most shipping since February 28, when the United States and Israel carried out their first wave of strikes on the Islamic Republic. This disruption, combined with Iranian strikes on oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf states, has driven up global energy prices.
Trump issued an ultimatum to Tehran on Saturday evening after failed attempts to rally European countries to help restore access to the strait.
“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!” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Iran’s largest power plant – the gas-powered Damavand plant – is located near Pakdasht, southeast of Tehran. Other major facilities include the Shahid Abbaspour, Karun-3, and Masjed Soleyman hydroelectric dams in Khuzestan province, as well as the Kerman thermal power plant in Kerman province.
Iran’s sole nuclear power plant is in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf coast. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said earlier this week that a projectile struck a structure about 350 meters from the facility.
