Trump issues 48-hour Hormuz Strait ultimatum, threatens Iran power plants
Tehran responds to Trump’s threat by saying all US energy infrastructure in the region will be targeted if Iran is attacked. Published On 22 Mar 202622 Mar 2026 United States President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran’s power plants if freedom of navigation is not fully restored at the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, a dramatic escalation as the US-Israeli war on Iran continues for a fourth week. The statement on Saturday came as Trump faces increasing pressure to secure the vital waterway that Iran has promised to keep closed to “enemy ships”, leading to soaring oil prices and plunging stock markets. “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, who is in his Florida home for the weekend, wrote on Truth Social at 23:44 GMT. He did not specify which plant he was referring to as the biggest. Following Trump’s threat, the Iranian army said it would target all energy infrastructure belonging to the US in the region if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure were attacked. Trump’s escalatory comments came barely a day after he talked about “winding down” the war that he launched alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 28, when the US and Iran were engaged in nuclear negotiations. In a social media post on Friday, Trump said the US was “getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East”. Key waterway Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes through during peacetime, has virtually ground to a halt since the early days of the war. Advertisement Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz is open to all except the US and its allies, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi saying last week that he had been “approached by a number of countries” seeking safe passage for their vessels. “This is up to our military to decide,” he told the US television network CBS, adding that a group of ships from “different countries” had been allowed to pass, without providing details. The head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, asserted on Saturday that Iran’s ability to attack vessels on the strait had been “degraded” after US fighter jets dropped 5,000-pound (about 2,300kg) bombs on an underground Iranian coastal facility storing antiship cruise missiles and mobile launchers earlier this week. The strike also destroyed “intelligence support sites and missile radar relays” used to monitor ship movements, Cooper said. Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo said there seemed to be a “gap between what the White House appears to want in the Strait of Hormuz and what the US military says they have already accomplished”. “It is interesting, to say at the very least, to hear Trump talking about a major escalation, given the fact that we’ve been hearing throughout the course of the day how much damage the US has done, supposedly, to Iran’s ability to target oil tankers and vessels navigating through the strait.” Adblock test (Why?)
Will the Houthis join Iran in war against Israel and the US?
The Yemeni armed group says all options are on the table. As the US-Israeli war against Iran drags on, Yemen’s Ansar Allah, or the Houthis, have stayed out of the conflict. But that could change. They have said they consider themselves directly concerned and could take a position alongside Iran. The armed group has attacked Israel and shipping in the Red Sea in recent years. If a new front opens up, global trade could be further disrupted in another maritime gateway. Shipping is already largely halted in the Strait of Hormuz, causing significant losses worldwide. So, will the Houthis join the war? And what difference could that make for this volatile region? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Farea al-Muslimi – research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House Khaled Batarfi – political analyst who specialises in Saudi Arabian foreign policy Rockford Weitz – director of the Fletcher Maritime Studies programme at Tufts University Published On 22 Mar 202622 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
What we know about Iran’s latest attacks on Israel
NewsFeed Israel’s air defence system failed to stop at least two Iranian missile strikes on southern Israel, in retaliation for an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear site. More than 100 Israelis have been injured in Arad and Dimona, with dozens of buildings destroyed. This is what we know. Published On 22 Mar 202622 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Amid gas crisis, Modi govt raises supply to 50 percent, more relief from March 23
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Uttar Pradesh: Land acquisition underway for industrial corridor near Meerut-Pauri highway and Gorakhpur-Shamli expressway, check details
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India lifts domestic airfare caps from March 23 after IndiGo crisis: ‘Exercise pricing discipline’
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Delhi-NCR Weather Update: National Capital wakes up to foggy morning, IMD predicts another rain spell likely to hit city soon, check date
Despite the day temperature rising on Saturday, the capital continued to experience chilly winds. Safdarjung, considered representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded a minimum temperature of 13 degrees C, which is 3.5 degrees below normal and lower than Friday’s 16 degrees C.
Trump gives Iran 48-hour ultimatum to reopen Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on power plants
President Donald Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran on Saturday, warning the U.S. would strike its power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened. “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 said in a post on Truth Social. The president’s threat represents a notable escalation in rhetoric as tensions surge over the strategically vital waterway. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a global choke point for oil and gas transport that supplies roughly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil, has been largely limited since early March, shortly after the war with Iran began. US SIGNALS READINESS TO ESCORT TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ AS TRAFFIC THINS BUT NO MISSION LAUNCHED Trump’s post comes after he told reporters Friday that reopening the strait was a “simple military maneuver.” “It’s relatively safe, but you need a lot of help in the sense of you need ships, you need volume,” he said. The president added that NATO hasn’t had the “courage” to assist the U.S. with reopening the waterway. TRUMP SAYS US ‘OBLITERATED’ TARGETS IN STRIKE ON KEY IRANIAN OIL HUB “NATO could help us, but they so far haven’t had the courage to do so, and others could help us,” Trump said. “But, you know, we don’t use it. You know, at a certain point, it’ll reopen itself.” Earlier Friday, Trump ripped NATO on Truth Social as “cowards,” saying they “complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz.” A growing group of countries has signed onto a joint statement signaling their “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the strait. The joint statement said, “We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait,” and, “We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.” The statement was attributed to leaders from more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United Arab Emirates. “We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces,” the statement reads. NATO HEAVYWEIGHTS BALK AT HORMUZ MISSION AS TRUMP WARNS ALLIANCE AT RISK “We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict. We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping, and to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2817,” the statement continued. Earlier this week, U.S. forces struck Iran’s anti-ship missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz with 5,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.