President Trump on Saturday issued a blistering ultimatum to Iran, warning that it has 48 hours to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face US strikes that would “obliterate” its vital energy infrastructure.
“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!” the president fumed on Truth Social.
Iran has effectively closed the crucial waterway — responsible for a fifth of the world’s oil exports — since Trump launched the joint US-Israeli attack on the country on Feb. 28.
The closure has sent global fuel prices soaring — with Brent crude remaining above $100 per barrel on Friday — up from around $70 a month ago.
Tehran has vowed to use the surging oil prices as a strategic point of pressure against the US and Israel.
Trump’s stark warning came after he raged in a separate post that the US has “blown Iran off of the map.”
He claimed the escalating conflict was progressing “weeks ahead of schedule” while bashing the New York Times for reporting otherwise.
“The United States has blow Iran off the map, and yet their lightweight analyst, David Sanger, says that I haven’t met my own goals. Yes I have, and weeks ahead of schedule,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“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. Just like their incompetent Election coverage of me, The Failing new York Times always gets it wrong.”
Trump on Friday told reporters he’s not interested in a potential cease-fire with Iran, contending that the damage in the country is so severe that it will take a decade to rebuild.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the United States’ airstrikes on Iran:
He slammed Iran for “clogging up the strait” and NATO for not having the “courage” to help reopen it.
Trump said he has not ruled out ordering troops to storm Iran’s coast to secure the Strait of Hormuz or take Kharg Island.
