Less than 12 hours before a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was set to expire, Trump said he would delay planned strikes on Iran’s power plants. He described talks with Tehran as “very good and productive” and said the action would be postponed by five days, though Iranian news agencies denied any contact between the two sides.
Washington has been pressing Iran to end an effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments pass. The closure left tankers stranded for weeks and pushed fuel prices higher; after Trump’s announcement, Brent crude fell more than 8% to roughly $103 a barrel.
Trump issued the ultimatum on his Truth Social platform, demanding Iran fully reopen Hormuz to commercial shipping within 48 hours. He warned that failure to comply would lead the United States to “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants, “starting with the biggest one first.”
Where are Iran’s biggest power plants?
Iran operates 98 natural gas power plants, which the US Energy Information Administration estimates produce about 85% of the country’s electricity. If the US were to target the largest single site first, the Damavand power station near Pakdasht, about 50 kilometers southeast of Tehran, would be the main candidate. Damavand has roughly 2,868 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity and, by some estimates, supplies about 43% of Tehran’s electricity.
Other large facilities that could be targeted include the Ramin plant in the oil-rich southwest, Shahid Salimi (Neka) on the Caspian coast, a Kerman facility in the southeast, and the Shahid Montazeri station in Isfahan. These each have capacities in the roughly 1,600–2,400 MW range.
Some outlets speculated Trump might mean the Bushehr nuclear plant, Iran’s only operational nuclear reactor. Bushehr’s gross capacity is about 1,000 MW, far smaller than Damavand’s contribution to the national grid. International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi warned that a strike on Bushehr would cross the “reddest line” of nuclear safety, with potential core damage dispersing radioactivity, forcing evacuations and threatening marine contamination in the Persian Gulf.
How severe would US strikes need to be?
Damage to a single large plant like Damavand would not likely trigger a nationwide blackout. Iran’s total electrical capacity is about 98,802 MW, so destroying Damavand would remove roughly 3–4% of that capacity. Broad or nationwide outages would require coordinated strikes on multiple generation facilities plus transmission lines, substations and transformers. Synchronized attacks on those elements could create widespread blackouts across Iran’s population of about 90 million, already strained by weeks of conflict and long-term sanctions affecting the economy and oil trade.
Prolonged power cuts could cripple industry, communications, water supply and military operations, worsening internal instability. Trump appears to be using the threat of such damage to pressure Tehran to reopen the strait and potentially end the wider conflict.
How did Iran respond?
Iran’s Fars news agency, citing an unnamed source, denied any direct or indirect communications with Washington and said Tehran had forced Trump to back down after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned of equivalent retaliation. IRGC spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaqari previously threatened strikes on energy infrastructure, IT systems and water desalination plants across the region. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned of “irreversible destruction” to critical infrastructure and said financial entities holding US Treasury bonds would be legitimate targets.
The IRGC added that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until any destroyed Iranian power plants were rebuilt, a stance that would likely push global oil and gas prices much higher. Iran’s Defense Council later warned it would lay sea mines, including floating mines, in the strait and throughout the Persian Gulf.
What could be the regional impact?
So far, Gulf nations affected by Iranian strikes on energy facilities have largely remained outside direct involvement. But Saudi Arabia and Qatar have warned of severe retaliation if their critical infrastructure—oil fields, refineries and desalination plants—are attacked again. After Iran struck a Saudi oil refinery and launched ballistic missiles toward Riyadh, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan warned Tehran that the kingdom’s patience was running out and that it reserved the right to military action if necessary.
Further escalation could draw in US-led coalition forces in the Gulf and risk a broader regional war. Since the conflict began on February 28, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have been hit by thousands of Iranian missiles and drones, which have caused significant but contained damage to oil and gas facilities and civilian infrastructure. The International Energy Agency says more than 40 energy sites across nine countries in the Middle East have been “severely or very severely” damaged.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru