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U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The ultimatum came a day after Trump said he was considering “winding down” military operations following three weeks of war. It also comes as the key oil passage remains effectively closed and thousands more U.S. Marines head to the Middle East.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “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.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran had imposed restrictions only on vessels from countries involved in attacks against Iran, adding that others not involved in the conflict would be assisted.
In response to Trump’s threat, Iran’s military said it would target energy and desalination infrastructure “belonging to the U.S. and the regime in the region,” according to the Fars News Agency.
The escalation came hours after two Iranian missiles struck southern Israel, injuring more than 100 people in the most destructive attack since the war began. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate “on all fronts.”
The strikes, which slipped through Israel’s missile defence systems, tore open the facades of residential buildings and left large craters. First responders said 84 people were injured in the town of Arad, 10 of them seriously. Hours earlier, 33 people were wounded in nearby Dimona, where footage showed a large crater beside piles of rubble and twisted metal.
Dimona hosts a facility widely believed to be the site of the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal, although Israel has never officially confirmed possessing nuclear weapons.
Iran said the strike on Dimona was in retaliation for Israeli attacks on its Natanz nuclear facility. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its forces also targeted other southern Israeli towns, as well as military sites in Kuwait and the UAE.
The Israeli military told Agence France-Presse there had been a “direct missile hit on a building” in Dimona, with casualties reported at multiple locations, including a 10-year-old boy in serious condition with shrapnel wounds.
Netanyahu later reaffirmed Israel’s position, vowing to continue strikes on Iran. Hours afterward, the Israeli military said it had launched a new wave of attacks on Tehran.
