Iran has threatened to hit energy sites in the Middle East after United States President Donald Trump threatened to attack its power plants if Tehran does not open the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Critical infrastructure and energy facilities in the region could be “irreversibly destroyed” should Iranian power plants be targeted, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in comments posted on X on Sunday.
“Immediately after power plants and infrastructure in our country are targeted, vital infrastructure as well as energy and oil infrastructure across the entire region will be considered legitimate targets and will be irreversibly destroyed,” Ghalibaf posted.
Qalibaf said regional infrastructure would become “legitimate targets” should Iran’s facilities be hit, and that its retaliation would increase the price of oil “for a long time”.
His comments came after Trump on Saturday said the US will “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said later on Sunday that the waterway was “open to all except those who violate our soil”.
“The illusion of erasing Iran from the map shows desperation against the will of a history-making nation. Threats and terror only strengthen our unity,” he said in a post on X.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also insisted that the waterway was “not closed”, indicating in comments on X that the US and Israel were responsible for the recent disruption.
“Ships hesitate because insurers fear the war of choice you initiated – not Iran,” he said. “No insurer – and no Iranian – will be swayed by more threats.”
Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it would completely shut the Strait of Hormuz if Trump executes threats to target Iranian energy facilities.
In a statement, the IRGC said companies with US shares will be “completely destroyed” if Iranian energy facilities were targeted by Washington and energy facilities in countries that host US bases will be “lawful” targets.
Iran, which has effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked the country on February 28, says the key waterway is already open – except to the US and its allies.
The strait remains open to all shipping except vessels linked to “Iran’s enemies”, Iran’s representative to the International Maritime Organization was quoted as saying in Iranian media reports published on Sunday.
The closure of the strait, a narrow choke point that carries around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, has caused the worst oil crisis since the 1970s.
