Iran on Sunday warned it will attack key infrastructure across the Middle East if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to “obliterate“ Tehran’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz swiftly reopens.
“Following previous warnings, if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked by the enemy, all energy, information technology, and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted,” Iran’s military operational command said in a statement on Tasnim news agency Sunday.
Trump said in a social media post late Saturday that he would “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants, beginning with the biggest one, if it didn’t open the strait within 48 hours.
The comments from Trump on his Truth Social media platform marked a dramatic escalation in the US president’s rhetoric about the strait, a day after he said he was thinking about “winding down” the military operation and that the responsibility for policing Hormuz would fall to the countries reliant on shipping through the corridor.
Unlike attacks on other energy assets — like the South Pars gas field — striking Iran’s power sector, on its own, wouldn’t have immediate repercussions for the world’s energy supplies. Iran has 98 operational natural gas power plants, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Among the largest are the Damavand combined cycle power plant, southeast of Tehran; the Ramin power plant north of Ahvaz; and the Kerman facility in Chatroud.
Trump’s threat to begin by striking Iran’s the largest power facilities also could be a reference to the Bushehr nuclear plant.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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