WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Saturday (Mar 21) gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic or face the destruction of its energy infrastructure.
“If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
In response, Iran’s military renewed threats against the region’s infrastructure.
“Following previous warnings, if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is violated by the enemy, all energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted,” the Iranian military’s operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement carried by Fars news agency.
Since the US and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb 28, Iran has effectively closed the Strait in retaliation.
Around a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait during peacetime, with the closure sending countries reliant on the shipping lane scrambling for alternative routes and tapping reserves.
The hit to supplies from the Gulf has caused fuel prices to spike worldwide, threatening governments with widespread inflation the longer the war continues.
The US military said earlier on Saturday that it had damaged an Iranian bunker housing weapons threatening oil and gas shipments in the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement appeared designed to calm the concerns of energy markets and of Washington’s skeptical international allies, more than 20 of whom issued a statement vowing to back efforts to reopen the key sea lane.