TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON – Iran will attack Israel’s power plants and plants supplying US bases in the Gulf if President Donald Trump carries out his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power network, the country’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Monday.
The statement seemingly retracted earlier threats to desalination plants in the region, which are crucial for providing drinking water in Gulf countries.
“The lying … U.S. President has claimed that the Revolutionary Guards intends to attack the water desalination plants and cause hardship to the people of the countries in the region,” said the statement shared on state media.
“We are determined to respond to any threat at the same level as it creates in terms of deterrence … If you hit electricity, we hit electricity.”
On Saturday, Trump warned that Iranian power plants would be destroyed if Tehran failed to “fully open” the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping within 48 hours. Trump set a Monday deadline of around 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT).
Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, causing the worst oil crisis since the 1970s.
More than 2,000 people have been killed during the war the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28, which has upended markets, spiked fuel costs, fuelled global inflation fears and convulsed the postwar Western alliance.
The threat of strikes on Gulf electricity grids on Sunday raised the fear of mass disruption to desalination for drinking water, and further unsettled oil markets, with prices opening choppy in Asiatrading.
After more than three weeks of heavy U.S. and Israeli bombardment that officials say has sharply reduced Iran’s missile capabilities, Tehran has continued to demonstrate its ability to strike back.
Air raid sirens sounded across parts of northern and central Israel, including in Tel Aviv, and the occupied West Bank overnight on Sunday, warning of incoming missiles from Iran.
The Israeli military said early Monday it had begun a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure in Tehran.
