Iran threatens strikes on Gulf energy and water infrastructure after Trump's ultimatum

Iran has warned it will target energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf if the United States follows through on its threat to strike its electricity grid, escalating tensions as a US deadline over the Strait of Hormuz approaches.

US President Donald Trump set a Monday deadline of around 7:44 PM EDT, 1:44 AM local time, warning that Washington would attack Iran’s power plants unless Tehran fully reopened the strategic waterway within 48 hours. The threat has raised concerns of wider disruption across the region, particularly in countries heavily reliant on desalination for drinking water.

Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said, according to state media, “If Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked by the enemy, all energy infrastructure, as well as information technology...and water desalination facilities, belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted pursuant to previous warnings.” Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf also warned that key infrastructure in the Middle East could be “irreversibly destroyed” if Iranian power facilities are hit.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed in the event of such an escalation. “The Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will not be opened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt,” the Guards said in a statement.

The developments come as Israel and the United States continue operations against Iranian targets. The Israeli military said early Monday it had launched a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure in Tehran. Air raid sirens sounded overnight and Monday morning across parts of northern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv and the West Bank, as missiles were launched towards civilian infrastructure from Iran.

In Saudi Arabia, the defense ministry said two ballistic missiles were launched toward Riyadh early Monday. One was intercepted, while the other fell in an uninhabited area. Meanwhile, Iranian media reported casualties from Israeli strikes and damage to residential areas in Urmia.

Gulf states remain particularly vulnerable to infrastructure disruption. Desalination plants supply 100 percent of drinking water in Bahrain and Qatar, more than 80 percent in the United Arab Emirates, and around half in Saudi Arabia. Any sustained attacks on such facilities could have significant humanitarian and economic consequences as the conflict enters a new and potentially broader phase.