Iran threatens to shut the Strait of Hormuz “completely” if Donald Trump orders strikes on its power plants

Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants within 48 hours if it did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel in the Persian Gulf that has been largely closed to shipping following Iranian strikes since February 28.

“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 wrote on Truth Social on Saturday night.
Under the Geneva Conventions, attacks on “objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population” are prohibited. International Humanitarian Law also requires that any civilian harm from military strikes must not be excessive relative to the expected military advantage.
Destroying power plants could trigger widespread blackouts and disrupt hospitals, water treatment systems, and food supply chains.
An Iranian military spokesperson responded on Sunday, warning that Iran would retaliate against any such attack by targeting U.S.-linked energy facilities across the region.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, wrote on X that if Iran’s power plants are attacked, “critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and oil facilities” across the region would be destroyed “in an irreversible manner.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also warned that the Strait would be “completely closed” if the country’s energy grid is targeted and would remain shut until its power plants are rebuilt.
Tehran had earlier threatened to strike energy infrastructure in Gulf countries if its own facilities came under attack. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, linked to the IRGC, published a list of major U.S. tech companies in Israel and the Gulf it said could be targeted in an infrastructure conflict, including offices of Google, Microsoft, Palantir Technologies, IBM, Nvidia, and Oracle Corporation.
An escalating energy war
Trump’s threat to expand attacks to Iran’s civilian infrastructure came just two days after he declared victory in the conflict, which began on February 28 with coordinated U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.
“I think we’ve won,” he told reporters outside the White House on March 20. “We’ve knocked out their navy, their air force. We’ve knocked out their anti-aircraft, we’ve knocked out everything. We’re roaming free… From a military standpoint, they’re finished.”
The potential exchange of strikes on energy infrastructure risks intensifying what the International Energy Agency has described as the largest disruption in the history of the global oil market. U.S. gas prices rose to an average of $3.942 over the weekend, according to AAA, while Brent crude surged nearly 50% to $112 per barrel since the conflict began.
In recent days, Trump has alternated between calling for an international coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that the U.S. would reopen it, and suggesting it would “open itself.”
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint, carries nearly a fifth of the world’s oil supply. However, it has been largely inaccessible to tanker traffic since Iran began targeting shipping at the onset of the conflict.
Now a central battleground in the war, the Strait’s closure has enabled Iran to exert economic pressure on the U.S., its Gulf allies, and the global oil market—providing leverage despite its military disadvantages.