On Saturday night, March 21, 2026, Trump posted on Truth Social: “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!” The threat came on Day 22 of the war Trump started without congressional approval.
The Strait of Hormuz carries one-fifth of global crude oil and had been effectively closed since the war began February 28. Oil prices had surged 48% to $108/barrel; US gas averaged $3.94/gallon (California: $5.76). The economic pressure on American consumers was mounting daily.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards responded they would “completely shut” the Strait if power plants were hit. Iran's parliament warned that Gulf energy, IT, and desalination infrastructure would become “legitimate targets” — threatening to expand the war across the entire Gulf region.
Under the Geneva Conventions, attacks on “objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population” are prohibited. Power plants serving civilian populations fall squarely within this protection. Legal experts noted that deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.
On Monday March 23, Trump postponed the strikes for five days, citing “productive conversations” — backing down from his own ultimatum after just 48 hours of international backlash and Iranian counter-threats.
Correction (October 2, 2026): We removed 2 citations whose links no longer resolve to the cited article and could not be verified: Fox News (“Trump threatens to 'obliterate' Iran power plants if Strait of Hormuz doesn't open in 48 hours”); Al Jazeera (“Iran warns Gulf infrastructure 'legitimate targets' after Trump power plant threat”). The remaining sources are listed below.