US power plant threats ‘show desperation’, says Iran president as strikes continue across Middle East
Irans president says U.S. threats against its power plants signal desperation as regional strikes persist.
Image: GlobalBeat / 2026
US power plant threats expose Trump desperation, Iran president says as strikes hit 5 nations
Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said US threats against Iranian power plants revealed American desperation as Israeli and Iranian forces exchanged strikes across five Middle Eastern countries.
Pezeshkian spoke after US officials warned Iran against targeting energy infrastructure in retaliation for Israeli attacks that killed at least 31 people in Syria and Lebanon.
The statements marked the first direct Iranian response to reported US warnings that Washington would bomb Iranian power facilities if Tehran struck Israeli gas platforms. Tensions escalated after Israel bombed Iranian-linked sites in Syria on Tuesday, prompting retaliatory rocket fire from Lebanon and Gaza.
Israeli warplanes struck Damascus countryside at 3:15 am local time, killing 18 Syrian and Iranian personnel at a military research facility, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Hours later, Israeli jets hit Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, killing 13 fighters near the border village of Aita al-Shaab, Lebanese security sources said.
Pezeshkian told state television that US threats against civilian infrastructure showed “the enemy’s weakness and confusion in the face of resistance.” He spoke during a emergency cabinet meeting convened after Israeli strikes killed Iranian military advisers in Syria.
US officials warned Iran through diplomatic channels that any attack on Israeli energy facilities would trigger American strikes on Iranian power plants, three Western diplomats told Reuters. The warnings came after Iran vowed to avenge Israeli attacks that killed seven Revolutionary Guards members in Damascus last week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would respond “with crushing force” to any Iranian retaliation. He spoke during a visit to northern Israel where troops remained on high alert for possible Hezbollah attacks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivered a formal protest letter to the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which handles US interests in Iran. The letter accused Washington of “green-lighting Israeli aggression” and warned that American bases in the region would face retaliation if US forces attacked Iran, state media reported.
The Pentagon deployed additional Patriot missile batteries to bases in Qatar and Kuwait, defense officials said. US Central Command said the deployments were “precautionary measures” amid escalating regional tensions.
Oil prices rose 4.2 percent to $78.45 per barrel after reports of the US warnings to Iran. Energy markets remained jittery over potential Iranian threats to shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf, through which 20 percent of global oil supplies pass.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for “maximum restraint” from all parties. He spoke after convening an emergency meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels to discuss the escalating crisis.
Russia’s foreign ministry condemned Israeli strikes on Syria as “a flagrant violation of international law.” Moscow said it had warned the United Nations Security Council about the risks of regional escalation.
Background
Iran and Israel have fought a shadow war across the Middle East for decades, using proxy forces and conducting covert operations. The conflict intensified after Iran’s nuclear program expanded in the 2000s, prompting Israeli assassinations of Iranian scientists and sabotage operations.
US-Iran tensions escalated after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed sanctions that devastated Iran’s economy. The two countries came close to war in January 2020 after a US drone strike killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.
Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes in Syria since 2011, targeting Iranian weapons shipments to Hezbollah. Iran has responded by establishing permanent military bases in Syria and transferring advanced missile technology to proxy groups surrounding Israel.
What’s Next
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council will meet Friday to consider potential responses to Israeli strikes, state media reported. Diplomatic sources say Tehran could order Hezbollah to launch limited attacks or deploy naval forces to challenge Israeli gas platforms in the Mediterranean.