Trump, Iran threaten energy targets

President vows to 'obliterate' facilities if strait isn't opened

By: Kathryn Palmer
USA Today

..... President Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iranian power plants if the pivotal Strait of Hormuz isn't opened, prompting Iran to respond with their own threats of retaliation as the war's energy crisis escalates.
..... The president took to social media to pressure the Middle Eastern nations over the global shipping route, which Iran has effectively close since the U.S.-Israeli strikes began on February 28. [2026] It's one of the world's most important oil routes and ferries roughly 20% of the world's oil products annually.
..... "If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WIHTOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 hours from the exact point in time, the Untied States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS STARTING WITH TEH BIGGEST ONE FIRST!" Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly before 8 PM. on March 21. [2026]
..... In response, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament, said if the United States does strike Iran's power plants, Iran will destroy critical infrastructure and oil facilities in the region in an "irreversible manner." Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya military commend headquarters said on March 22 [2026] that Iran would also launch retaliatory attacks on all U.S. energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure in the region.

U.S. gas hits $3.94 per gallon

..... As the war enters its fourth week, the economic and oil-related repercussions continue to rattle global and domestic markets. The average U.S. gas price hit $3.94 per gallon, compared to #2.98 a fallow two days before the war began.
..... "President Trump's threat has now placed a 48-hour ticking time bomb of elevated uncertainty over markets,: said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, who expects stock markets to fall on March 23 [2026] as energy supplies remain strained.
..... Iran's power grid is deeply intertwined with its energy sector. Striking major plants could trigger blackouts, crippling everything form pumps and refineries to export terminals and military commend centers.
..... The risks of worsening regional conflict, highlighted by an Iranian threat to hit water-scarce Gulf states' desalination plants, are especially acute for the desert countries whose populations and economies depend on the water-making facilities. while some, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab emirates, can draw on more than one sea, others - including Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait - sit crowded along the shoreline of the Gulf with no alternative coastline, leaving critical desalination plants exposed to any escalation targeting energy and infrastructure.

Israel strikes bridges in Lebanon

..... Tehran fired long-range missiles for the first time on March 21, [2026] expanding the risk of attacks beyond the middle East, while an Iranian strike landed near Israel's secretive nuclear reactor about 8 miles southeast of the city of Dimona. Iran fired two ballistic missiles with a range of 2,500 miles at the U.S.-British Indian Ocean military base at Diego Garcia, said Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir.
..... Meanwhile, fighting in the Gulf has been taking place alongside a separate front between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, backed by Iran,, with the Israeli military saying on March 22 [2026] its troops had raided a number of the armed group's sites in Southern Lebanon and had struck a main bridge linking Lebanon's south to the rest of the country.
..... Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military had been ordered to destroy all bridges over the Litani River sued for "terrorist activity," to prevent Hezbollah militant and weapons from moving south. He also said the military was ordered to accelerate the demolition of Lebanese homes in "front-line villages" to neutralize threats to Israeli communities.
..... Hezbollah said it has attached several border areas in northern Israel. Israeli emergency services said one person was killed in an Israeli Kibbutz near the border, the first in Israel killed by fire form Lebanon since escalation began.

Death toll above 2,000

..... Lebanon continues to suffer the second-highest death toll with m,roe than1,000 people killed among the 2,000 in total across multiple countries. The United Nations reported on March 21 [2026] that 2,584 people have been injured in Lebanon since March 2, [2026] when Hezbollah launched strikes on Israel in response to the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatoliah ali Khamenei.
..... Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed in the war, and the Pentagon said the number of injured American service members had climbed to 200.
..... In Iran, casualty numbers vary. U.S.-based rights group HRNA said on March 21 [2026] that 3,230 people have been killed, including 1,406 civilians, and at least 210 children. Reuters reported the latest figures form Iranian state media put the toll at 1,270 people.

Democrats criticize costs

..... Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on March 22 [2026] that the United States has "plenty of money to fund the war" as Congress braces for an expected $200 billion request form the Pentagon.
..... Bessent called the ask "supplemental" and ruled out pushing for any tax increases to fund the war. When asked about whether ti's coming to an end soon, Bessent answered by telling host Kristen Welker that "sometimes you have to escalate to deescalate."
..... Santor Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, responded to Bessent's comments on the same program, suggesting Democrats may attempt to sue the Pentagon's expected request for billions more in war funding to pressure the administration to end the conflict.
..... "We need to end this war," Murphy said. "The only way you're going to get prices down here in the United States, the only way you're going to bring peace to the region, is by ending this war."
..... The funding ask faces stiff opposition in Congress. with Democrats and some Republicans questioning the need after large defense appropriations last year.

..... Contributing: Reuters

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