Name: Trump says US will ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants if Strait of Hormuz not open | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-03-22T16:36:56.000Z
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In the last few hours, Iran has said it is ready to cooperate with the International Maritime Organization to improve safety and protect seafarers in the Gulf.

The country's representative to the IMO added, diplomacy remains Iran's priority.

However, a complete cessation of aggression as well as mutual trust and confidence are more important.

The statement follows President Trump's threat to attack Iran's power plants if Tehran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which within 48 hours.

In a social media post, he wrote, they want to make a deal.

He added, if Iran doesn't fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the United States will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first.

Well, the threat comes less than a day after Mr. Trump talked about winding down the war.

Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large proportion of the world's oil and gas is transported, has sent fuel prices soaring on world markets.

About 3,000 ships usually sail through the straits each month, but this has dramatically decreased.

Our World News correspondent Joe Inwood has all the latest developments.

This does not feel like a war that is slowing down the Israeli town believed to host their nuclear arsenal hit by an Iranian ballistic missile retaliation, Tehran said, for a strike on one of their nuclear facilities.

It was not the only attack that expanded the scope of this war.

Iran fired two ballistic missiles at the UK US Base on Diego Garcia.

Although neither hit their target, it was far further than their missiles were thought to be able to reach.

Iran launched a two stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of two and a half thousand miles towards an American target on the island of Diego Garcia.

These missiles were not intended to hit Israel.

Their range reaches the capitals of Europe.

The full scale and capacity of Iran's ballistic missile program has long been subject to debate.

Today some of those questions have been answered.

It shows that the radius of action Iran has is much bigger than people thought.

It brings potentially European cities into target range, unlikely as I think that is at the moment and it certainly complicates the job of missile defense across that area and focuses the thinking of European capitals.

It also shows that Iran is able still to surprise the US And Israel.

While the missile threat may cause the most alarm, it is the war's economic cost that is most significant to Europe and the wider world.

That comes primarily from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz overnight.

Donald Trump said Iran had 48 hours to open the Strait or he would order the destruction of power plants.

That came just hours after one of his top officers said the military campaign to open the Strait of Hormuz was making progress with the destruction of a key Iranian base.

also destroyed intelligence support sites and missile radar relays that were used to monitor ship movements.

Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz is degraded as a result, and

But Iran says it's not just military targets the US And Israel are striking.

This was the port of Bushehr, near the strategically important Kharg Island.

Donald Trump has given often wildly contradictory statements about how and when this war might end.

Last night he claimed Iran had been blown off the map and want to make a deal, adding, I don't.

But that is something Iran has repeatedly denied.

The events of this weekend do little to suggest that either side is ready for the compromise or de escalation that would lead to peace.