As President Donald Trump’s 48-hour deadline ticks down, Tehran has responded to his threat to “obliterate” Iranian power plants with a threat of its own — and shown no signs of backing down. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have now declared that energy facilities in countries hosting US bases will be “lawful targets” if Trump follows through.Writing on Truth Social, Trump warned he would “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants “starting with the biggest one first” unless Tehran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz by 23:44 GMT on Monday. Around 20% of the world’s oil passes through the narrow waterway, which has been effectively blocked since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.Iran showed no sign of backing down on Sunday as Col. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command, warned, “If Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked, then fuel, energy, information technology systems and desalination infrastructure used by America and the regime in the region will be struck.”Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf threatened to destroy critical infrastructure across the region irreversibly.“Immediately after the power plants and infrastructure in our country are targeted, the critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and oil facilities throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets and will be destroyed in an irreversible manner, and the price of oil will remain high for a long time,” he posted on X.The war, now in its fourth week, has already spread beyond Iran’s borders. Iran targeted a joint UK-US base in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, while nuclear sites in both Iran and Israel were struck. The death toll has risen to more than 1,500 in Iran, over 1,000 in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 US military members, with millions displaced across the region.Now, with the clock running down, the question is whether Trump’s ultimatum will hold — or hand Tehran a win. For a president who came to power vowing to avoid “stupid” wars, the conflict he helped set in motion now risks slipping beyond his control. His administration’s messaging has been openly contradictory- talking de-escalation while deploying three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region. The US attacked Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility again, even as Tehran had clearly warned against any strikes on its energy infrastructure.Trump has repeatedly called on China, Japan and NATO to help clear the strait. None have moved.The economic pressure at home is real. Gas prices have risen 93 cents per gallon and US crude oil is up more than 70% since the start of the year. In a paradox, the Trump administration has quietly begun easing restrictions on Iranian crude, allowing allies to buy the very oil that funds Tehran — the resource it is simultaneously trying to cut off.Iran’s top diplomat has made clear what any path to peace would require “guarantees” that the US and Israel won’t attack the Islamic Republic again, and assurances that its “sovereignty and national security won’t be violated.” The comments came in a phone call with EAM Jaishankar on Saturday.
