Trump's ultimatum to Iran draws threat of retaliation

(Web Desk) - President Donald Trump warned late Saturday that the U.S. would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it didn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, prompting Tehran to say it would respond to any such strike with attacks on U.S. and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets in the region.

Iranian missiles, meanwhile, struck two communities in southern Israel late Saturday, leaving buildings shattered and dozens injured in dual attacks not far from Israel’s main nuclear research center.

Iran says it will completely shut the Strait of Hormuz and launch retaliatory attacks on regional energy and water infrastructure if the US attacks its power plants.

DESTRUCTION, BLACKOUT IN IRAN’S CITY AFTER AIR ATTACK

Footage, verified by Al Jazeera, shows residents of the city of Khorramabad, west of Tehran, searching through the debris of a destroyed building following an air attack on the area.

The videos show residents using torches as the raid appears to have caused a blackout in the area.

SITUATION IN MIDEST EAST ‘VERY SEVERE’

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has warned that the situation in the Middle East is “very severe” and worse than the two energy crises in the 1970s put together.

In an address to the National Press Club of Australia, Birol said that the biggest solution to the ongoing crisis is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked following the US-Israeli attack on the country.

As we’ve been reporting, Trump has issued an ultimatum to Iran to fully open the Strait, saying the US will hit Tehran’s power plants otherwise. Iran has said it will hit energy infrastructure as well as desalination facilities across the Middle East region if its energy grid is attacked.

GLOBAL OIL, GAS MARKETS FACE INSTABILITY

Ana Maria Jaller-Markarewicz, a lead analyst for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, says the war’s impact on energy markets is completely dependent on how long it lasts.

She noted that about 20 percent of the world’s LNG supply is currently disrupted, along with roughly 25 percent of oil and oil products – putting significant pressure on markets worldwide.

“The longer it takes, the more difficult it is to find stabilisation in the market, and we could see some demand disruption,” she told Al Jazeera.

Jaller-Markarewicz said Europe has been seeing “red flag signals” on the gas market for a while, but the continent has been ignoring those warnings.

“We had a big situation in Europe four years ago; the gas market was in crisis. We found ways to kind of support the crisis a little bit, and that was reducing gas consumption. Renewables have been playing a vital role here because what we have seen in the oil and gas market is that there’s a lot of volatility – any war, even any weather situation, could disrupt gas and oil markets,” she said.

The analyst also called for a “steady, long-term solution”, noting that both geopolitics and weather events have repeatedly shown how fragile global energy markets can be.

TOP SENATE DEMOCRAT URGES END TO WAR

US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for an end to the war in Iran, saying even some Republican lawmakers do not understand the administration’s strategy in the Middle East.

“Even some Republican Senators are openly admitting they have no clue what the Administration is trying to accomplish in the Middle East,” Schumer wrote on X Sunday.

“Enough is enough. End this war,” he added.

IRAN SAYS HORMUZ ‘NOT CLOSED

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed because insurers are wary of the conflict, blaming the United States for creating the conditions that have unsettled maritime traffic.

“The Strait of Hormuz is not closed,” Araghchi wrote on X. “Ships hesitate because insurers fear the war of choice you initiated—not Iran.”

“Freedom of Navigation cannot exist without Freedom of Trade. Respect both—or expect neither,” he added. “No insurer—and no Iranian—will be swayed by more threats. Try respect.”

MACRON URGES HALT TO STRIKES

France’s president Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that all parties should halt attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure and that Iran should reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“It is more essential than ever that all parties … agree to establish a moratorium on energy and civilian infrastructure and that Iran restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” Macron said in a post on X

He warned of the risk of uncontrolled escalation and called for restraint to allow a return to dialogue.

Macron added that France stands ready to support Saudi Arabia’s air defense and said the G7 and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) should strengthen coordination.