Iran will retaliate against an attack on its energy sector by targeting Israel's power plants, as well as plants that supply electricity to US military bases in countries in the region, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Monday morning, Reuters reports.
“We are determined to respond to any threat at the same level it creates in terms of deterrence… If you hit the electricity grid, we also hit the electricity,” the IRGC said in a statement broadcast by state media.
The IRGC's announcement appears to back off earlier threats to the region's desalination plants, which are critical to providing drinking water to Gulf countries, Reuters notes.
“The lying US president claimed that the Revolutionary Guards intended to attack water desalination plants and cause suffering to the people of countries in the region,” according to the statement.
Earlier, the Revolutionary Guards announced that Iran will completely close the strategic Strait of Hormuz if US President Donald Trump carries out his threats to strike Iranian energy infrastructure.
Ultimatum from Trump
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump warned that Iran's power plants would be hit if Tehran did not “fully open” the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping within 48 hours.
“If Iran does not TOTALLY reopen, WITHOUT ANY THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz within 48 HOURS from this precise moment, the United States of America will strike and destroy its various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE!”, the US leader said Saturday evening, in a message posted on his Truth Social platform.
About 3,000 ships typically pass through the strait each month, but that number has dropped dramatically recently as Iran threatens to attack oil tankers and other ships.
