US, Iran in counter threats over Strait of Hormuz

2026-03-23 - 03:43

•Trump gives Iran 48hrs to open oil route or face obliteration of its power plants •Tehran responds, threatens US-linked Gulf energy sites •To completely close Hormuz if US targets power plants By Nkiruka Nnorom with agency reports AS the stand-off over the Strait of Hormuz continued, following its effective blockade by Iran, the US and the gulf state are trading threats of further destruction of energy and oil infrastructure across the Middle East with US President, Donald Trump, saying Tehran would face possible obliteration of its energy facilities if it failed to reopen the channel within 48 hours. In a swift response, Iran threatened to irreversibly destroy US-linked energy sites across the Middle East if its power plants were targeted. The 48 hours deadline expires today. Trump’s ultimatum came hours after two Iranian missiles struck southern Israeli towns of Arad and Dimona, injuring more than 160 people in the most destructive attack since the war began. This, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to retaliate “on all fronts”. Iran had blocked the vital waterway, which carries a fifth of global crude oil trade in peacetime, as its key leverage in the war. The standoff has sent crude oil prices soaring, with North Sea Brent crude now trading above $105 a barrel, as long-term consequences for the global economy become an acute concern. The ultimatum, made just a day after the US 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. 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. Meanwhile, issuing the threat via his Truth Social, Trump said that the US would “hit and obliterate various Iran power plants starting with the biggest one first if Tehran did not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours.” Reinforcing Trump’s threat, US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said the US may need to “escalate” its attacks against Iran to be able to wind down the war. Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if Trump was winding down or escalating the war, Bessent said: “They’re not mutually exclusive. Sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate.” “This is the only language the Iranians understand,” he argued. Iran threatens US-linked Gulf energy sites after In response to Trump’s threat, Iran’s army said it would target energy and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region, according to the Fars news agency. In a post on X, speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, said that vital infrastructure, energy and oil facilities throughout the region will be considered “legitimate targets” and would be destroyed in an irreversible manner. “Immediately after the power plants and infrastructure in our country are targeted, the critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and oil facilities throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets and will be destroyed in an irreversible manner, and the price of oil will remain high for a long time,” Ghalibaf said. Similarly, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence unit in a post on X published by the IRGC affiliated Fars News Agency, said that it is thinking “beyond just the region”.