Monday, March, 23 2026 - President Donald Trump has threatened to “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz.
The ultimatum came a day after the president said he was
considering “winding down” military operations after three weeks of war, came
as the key oil passage remained effectively closed and thousands more US
Marines headed 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!” Trump said on social media.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran had
imposed restrictions only on vessels from countries involved in attacks against
Iran, and would assist others that stayed out of the conflict.
In response to Trump’s threat, Iran’s army said it will
target energy and desalination infrastructure “belonging to the US and the
regime in the region,” according to the Fars news agency.
Trump’s ultimatum came hours after two Iranian missiles
struck southern Israel, injuring more than 100 people in the most destructive
attack since the war began. The 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 carved craters into
the ground.
First responders said 84 people were injured in the town of
Arad, 10 of them seriously. Hours earlier, 33 were wounded in nearby Dimona,
where AFPTV footage showed a large hole gouged into the ground next to 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 admitted to
possessing nuclear weapons.
Iran said the targeting of Dimona was retaliation for
Israeli strikes on its Natanz nuclear facility, with the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) saying forces also targeted other southern Israeli towns as
well as military sites in Kuwait and the UAE.
The Israeli army told Agence France-Presse there had been a
“direct missile hit on a building” in Dimona, with casualties reported at
multiple sites, including a 10-year-old boy in serious condition with shrapnel
wounds.
Netanyahu vowed to continue striking Iran. Hours later, the
Israeli military said its forces had launched a wave of strikes on Tehran.
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