Iran war: Trump threatens strikes on Iranian power plants over Hormuz closure

Former U.S. president Donald Trump warned Tehran he would bomb Iranian power plants if it blocks the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported on Wednesday.

The threat followed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seizure of a commercial tanker in the strategic waterway, officials confirmed.

About 20 percent of global oil supplies pass through the 33 kilometer-wide channel between Iran and Oman. Closure would send energy prices surging worldwide, analysts said.

Trump issued the warning during a campaign event in Iowa, state broadcaster IRIB reported. “If they close it, we’ll put their power plants out of business,” Trump said, according to the Persian-language summary carried by IRIB. U.S. networks did not air the remark live.

Tehran dismissed the threat as “election rhetoric,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters. “The era of U.S. hit-and-run attacks on Iran ended long ago,” he added.

The Pentagon declined to comment on hypothetical operations, spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said. Current U.S. policy remains focused on diplomacy and deterrence, she added.

Revolutionary Guard commandos boarded the Portuguese-flagged tanker MSC Aries on Saturday, taking the 17 Indian and 4 Filipino crew to Bandar Abbas port, state television showed.

Washington and Brussels condemned the seizure as “unlawful interference in commercial shipping,” according to separate statements released Sunday.

Background

The United States and Iran have had no formal diplomatic ties since 1980, after Iranian students stormed the American embassy in Tehran and held 52 diplomats for 444 days. Multiple U.S. administrations have used sanctions and occasionally military force to counter Iran’s nuclear program and regional influence.

The Strait of Hormuz has been a repeated flashpoint. During 2019 tanker attacks that Washington blamed on Tehran, then-president Trump approved but later cancelled strikes on Iranian radar sites. In 2020 the two countries came close to open conflict after a U.S. drone killed Revolutionary Guard general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad; Iran responded with missile strikes on an Iraqi base hosting American troops that injured more than 100 personnel.

What’s Next

A fifth round of U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports is due to enter force on 1 May, according to a Treasury notice filed last month. Iran has signalled it could retaliate with wider Hormuz restrictions if shipments fall further, two Iranian officials told Reuters last week.

Pentagon planners are updating contingency routes for Gulf naval patrols, according to an internal briefing slide seen by GlobalBeat. Commercial insurers have added a $400,000 war-risk surcharge for tankers calling at Iranian ports, Baltic Exchange data showed, a cost shipping executives say is already being passed to consumers.