Iran Warns It Will Completely Shut Down Hormuz If US Hits Power Plants

Iran’s military on Sunday threatened to completely shut down the Strait of Hormuz—a critical global shipping route—if US President Donald Trump follows through on threats to target the country’s power plants.

Trump has given Iran 48 hours to reopen the strait, which has been effectively closed since the start of the war sparked on February 28 by US-Israeli bombardment of Iran.

The conflict has since spread across the Middle East, with Iran responding through drone and missile attacks on Israel and US interests in the region.

“If the United States’ threats regarding Iran’s power plants are carried out, the Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will not be reopened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt,” the military’s operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, said in a statement carried by state TV.

The military also said it would strike Israel’s “power plants, energy, and information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure,” as well as power facilities in regional countries hosting US bases and companies with US shareholders.

It added that these measures would be taken “to defend our country and the interests of our nation.”

Traffic through the vital strait—through which about 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes—has been reduced to a near standstill since the start of the war.

Only a small number of vessels—around five percent of pre-war volume, according to analytics firm Kpler—have been able to transit the route.

Iranian forces have attacked multiple vessels, saying they failed to heed “warnings” against transiting the waterway.

In recent days, Iran has allowed some vessels from countries it considers friendly to pass, while warning that it would block ships from countries it accuses of joining the “aggression” against it.

Iran’s parliament is also considering imposing tolls on shipping through the strait, with Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf saying maritime traffic would “not return to its pre-war status.”