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US sailors inspect missiles aboard the USS Gerald Ford near Iran on March 17, 2026. (Reuters/Yonhap)

Tehran has threatened to hit essential energy, IT, and water facilities in the Middle East after US President Donald Trump gave Iran 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power plants. The standoff has led to widespread fears that a catastrophic escalation could put countless lives at risk. 
 
“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 [Israeli] regime in the region, will be targeted pursuant to previous warnings,” the Iranian military’s central command said in a statement issued Saturday (local time). 
 
Immediately following that warning, Fars News Agency, an outlet close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that Iranian missiles were targeting Israeli power plants. The outlet shared an X post made on March 12 by Iran’s security chief at the time, Ali Larijani, in which he stated that if the US attempted to destroy Iran’s power grid, “the entire region will go dark in 30 minutes.”
 
Iran’s threats to water desalination facilities have put countries in the region on edge. Countries that have US military bases, such as Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, rely on such water facilities for 99%, 90% and 70% for drinking water, respectively.
 
After claiming that the US attacked a desalination facility on the island of Qeshmon on March 7, Iran retaliated by attacking a desalination plant in Bahrain, which is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
 
US-Israeli attacks on Iran may lead to disaster for the greater Middle East. The Wall Street Journal reported that a drone fell on the grounds of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, which generates up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity, on Tuesday. This plant is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, meaning that destroying the plant would cause marine radioactive contamination.
 
“The United States is being run by a maniacal tyrant hell bent on destroying this country and the world along with it,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari of the US Democratic Party posted on her X account, noting that while Trump previously claimed that he would send help to Iranian protestors, he is now “threatening war crimes against an entire population.”
 
Reuters reported that the Damavand power plant (2,868 megawatts of capacity) near Tehran, the Kerman plant (1,910 megawatts of capacity) in the southeast, and the Ramin power plant (1,890 megawatts of capacity) in Khuzestan province would be likely targets if the US acts on Trump’s threats to strike Iranian power plants.

By Kim Ji-hoon, staff reporter

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