{"id":30646,"date":"2026-03-22T08:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/30646\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T08:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:46:14","slug":"trump-threatens-attacks-on-iranian-power-plants-if-tehran-fails-to-open-the-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/30646\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump threatens attacks on Iranian power plants if Tehran fails to open the Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"

CAIRO \u2014 President Donald Trump warned that the United States will \u201cobliterate\u201d power plants in Iran if the Islamic Republic doesn\u2019t fully open the strategic Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, and Iranian missiles struck two cities near Israel\u2019s main nuclear research center, leaving dozens of people injured and shattered apartment buildings.<\/p>\n

The developments signaled the war in the Middle East, now in its fourth week, was moving in a dangerous new direction.<\/p>\n

On Sunday morning, sirens across Israel warned of a new incoming barrage from Iran as residents woke up to scenes of vast damage in the southern cities of Dimona and Arad.<\/p>\n

Trump said on Saturday he would give Iran 48 hours to open the vital waterway or face a new round of attacks. He said the US would destroy \u201cvarious POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!\u201d<\/p>\n

He may have meant the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran’s biggest, which was already hit last week, or Damavand, a natural gas plant near Tehran, Iran’s capital.<\/p>\n

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In turn, Iran warned early Sunday that any strike on its energy facilities would prompt attacks on US and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets \u2014 specifically information technology and desalination facilities \u2014 in the region, according to a statement citing an Iranian military spokesperson carried by state media and semiofficial outlets.<\/p>\n

The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe\u2019s oceans, is a critical pathway for the world\u2019s flow of oil. Attacks on commercial ships and threats of further strikes have stopped nearly all tankers from carrying oil, gas and other goods through the passage, leading to cuts in output from some of the world\u2019s largest oil producers, because their crude has nowhere to go.<\/p>\n

Seyed Ali Mousavi, Iran\u2019s Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization, said in remarks carried by two Iranian news agencies that navigating the strait would be possible for \u201ceveryone except enemies\u201d \u2014 indicating Tehran would determine which vessels are allowed passage. Iran has already approved the passage of ships through the waterway to China and elsewhere in Asia.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Israeli<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Israeli security forces and rescue teams work at the site struck by an Iranian missile in Arad, southern Israel, Sunday, March 22, 2026. AP PHOTO\n <\/p>\n

Iran strikes area near Israeli nuclear site<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military said it was not able to intercept missiles that hit Dimona and Arad, the largest near the Negev Desert nuclear center. It was the first time Iranian missiles penetrated Israel\u2019s air defense systems in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Israeli regime is unable to intercept missiles in the heavily protected Dimona area, it is, operationally, a sign of entering a new phase of the battle,\u201d Iran\u2019s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X.<\/p>\n

Rescue workers said at least 64 people were taken to hospitals after the direct hit in Arad. Dimona is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the nuclear research center and Arad around 35 kilometers (22 miles) north.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the southern town of Arad on Sunday, saying that Israel is in a \u201chistoric battle\u201d against Iran and that it must \u201ccontinue until victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel is believed to be the only Middle East nation with nuclear weapons, though its leaders refuse to confirm or deny their existence. The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on X it had not received reports of damage to the Israeli center or abnormal radiation levels.<\/p>\n

Israel denies responsibility for attack on Natanz<\/p>\n

The Iranian strikes in Israel came after Tehran\u2019s main nuclear enrichment site at Natanz was hit earlier on Saturday. Israel denied responsibility and the Iranian judiciary\u2019s official news agency, Mizan, said there was no leakage.<\/p>\n

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said the bulk of Iran\u2019s estimated 972 pounds (441 kilograms) of enriched uranium is elsewhere, beneath the rubble at its Isfahan facility. It said on X it was looking into the strike.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon declined to comment on the strike on Natanz, which was also hit in the first week of the ongoing war and in the 12-day war last June. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said such strikes posed a \u201creal risk of catastrophic disaster throughout the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from hoping to foment an uprising that topples Iran\u2019s leadership to eliminating its nuclear and missile programs and its support for armed proxies. There have been no signs of an uprising, while internet restrictions limit information from Iran.<\/p>\n

The war\u2019s effects are felt far beyond the Middle East, raising food and fuel prices.<\/p>\n

So far in Iran, the death toll in the war has surpassed 1,500, the state broadcaster reported Saturday, citing the health ministry. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles and four others have died in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with well over a dozen civilians in Gulf nations.<\/p>\n

And in Lebanon, Israeli strikes targeting the militant Hezbollah group, an Iranian ally, have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1 million, according to the Lebanese government.<\/p>\n

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