Iran threatens to strike Middle East electrical plants powering US bases

Iran escalated tensions in the Middle East on Monday by threatening to strike electrical plants across the region if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on his ultimatum to bomb Iranian power plants.

“Some of the largest oil producers have made cuts because their crude has nowhere to go”

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The threat came as Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil shipping route that Iran has effectively closed since February 28.

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Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued a stark warning that the U.S. would face retaliatory attacks on power plants supplying electricity to American military bases, along with economic and industrial infrastructure where Americans have stakes.

This dramatic escalation occurred as both sides exchanged increasingly hostile rhetoric, with Trump warning he would 'obliterate' Iran's power plants starting with the largest one first, while Iranian officials vowed 'irreversible destruction' of regional infrastructure should their facilities come under attack.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard provided specific details about the scope of potential retaliatory attacks, stating they would target 'the power plants of the occupying regime and the power plants of regional countries that supply electricity to US bases, as well as the economic, industrial and energy infrastructures in which Americans have shares.'

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that the Strait of Hormuz would be 'completely closed' and 'will not be reopened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt' if Trump executes his threats.

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Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf amplified the threats in a post on X, declaring that '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.'

These warnings were accompanied by Iranian media publishing maps of potential targets, including the UAE's Barakah nuclear power plant and other regional facilities.

The Iranian threats placed Gulf Arab states in an extremely precarious position, as their electrical supplies and freshwater sources are directly at risk.

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The threat by Tehran puts at risk both electrical supplies and water in the Gulf Arab states, particularly as the desert nations commingle their power stations with desalination plants crucial for supplying drinking water.

Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency published a list of such facilities, including the United Arab Emirates' nuclear power plant, while the judiciary's Mizan news agency also published similar lists.

The UAE, which has close ties with Israel and the U.S., has been the hardest hit by Iranian missiles and drones since the war in the Middle East began on Feb. 28.

An adviser to the UAE criticized Arab and Islamic organizations' response to Iranian attacks in the Gulf, questioning where the 'joint Arab and Islamic labor institutions' were and calling it 'unacceptable' after the war to talk about 'the decline of the Arab and Islamic role.'

The escalating threats triggered international alarm and diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.

The International Energy Agency's executive director Fatih Birol warned that the current energy crisis is 'very severe' and 'equivalent to two oil crises and a gas collapse together,' referencing the energy crises of 1973 and 1979.

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He noted that the situation is 'a greater threat' to the global economy, with at least 40 energy infrastructures across nine countries having been 'severely or very severely' damaged.

China warned Monday that further attacks on the Middle East risk creating an 'uncontrollable situation' in the war-torn region, while Russia opposed any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with Trump about the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure global energy market stability, and the UK has authorized U.S. forces to use British bases for specific defensive operations in the Middle East conflict.

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that 'Strait of Hormuz is not closed' and that 'ships hesitate because insurers fear the war of choice you initiated—not Iran.'

The military context of the conflict continued to escalate as both sides demonstrated capabilities and willingness to expand the battlefield.

“Ships hesitate because insurers fear the war of choice you initiated - not Iran," Araghchi wrote on X”

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Iran's military warned that the Strait of Hormuz would be 'completely closed' if attacked, while the US Central Command reported that it had destroyed Iran's Qom Turbine Engine Production Plant, which produced gas turbine engines for attack drones and aircraft components.

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The conflict has already displaced 3.2 million people in Iran and 1 million in Lebanon, with over 2,000 people killed during the war that the US and Israel launched on Feb. 28.

The US is sending about 4,500 sailors and Marines to the region, including an infantry battalion with helicopters, F-35s, and armored landing craft, as officials now see reopening the waterway as the central military goal.

Israeli officials said these moves point to an operation aimed at securing Hormuz and possibly seizing Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal, with one Israeli official stating, 'Those Marines aren't coming for decoration.'

Meanwhile, Iranian media reported new airstrikes targeting Tehran without identifying the sites being hit, demonstrating the ongoing nature of the conflict despite the diplomatic efforts.