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Topics: Donald Trump, Iran, US News
Callum Jones
President Donald Trump has issued a 48-hour threat to Iran and has announced his plans for the next stage of the war in the Middle East.
The US-Iran war is now into its fourth week in what has been a series of attacks that initially saw Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed.
Iran fired back with retaliation attacks by targeting US military bases across the Middle East, with the likes of Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar impacted.
The Strait of Hormuz has been a huge talking point when it comes to this war, with very limited number of boats passing through the area. It has caused energy prices to soar worldwide, while a number of countries are at risk of running out of oil in the coming weeks if the war rages on.
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Now, Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure if Hormuz isn't fully reopened in the next 48 hours.
Taking to Truth Social on Saturday (March 21), the president said: "If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!"
Khatam Al-Anbiya, the Iranian military’s operational command, said in a statement: "If Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is violated by the enemy, all energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted."
Earlier on Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social once more to describe the current situation.
"The United States has blown Iran off of the map, and yet their lightweight analyst, David Sanger [the White House and National Security Correspondent for The New York Times], says that I haven't met my own goals. Yes I have, and weeks ahead of schedule!" the Republican president wrote.
Going on to describe Iran's military, Trump added: "Their leadership is gone, their navy and air force are dead, they have absolutely no defense, and they want to make a deal. I don't! We are weeks ahead of schedule."
While it may be many miles away from the US, the closure of Hormuz has had a knock on effect on the US economy.
Gas prices have rose and mortgage rates have also climbed to 6.22 percent due to market panic over oil prices.
The uncertainty has lead to Trump removing sanctions on Iranian oil in an effort to fix gas prices.