President Donald Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline on Saturday to reopen the critical waterway, threatening to “obliterate” the country’s power plants if Tehran doesn’t comply. By partially closing the strait, Iran is seeking to “make this aggression super expensive for the aggressors,” according to the Iranian diplomat. Yes, that’s what winning is for them,” said one of the European diplomats, who is based in the Persian Gulf. “There is no other ramp off.”The U.S. and Israel have hit more than 15,000 targets across Iran, according to the Pentagon. “Eventually, in a long war, almost nothing’s going to really work in Iran,” he said.

Source: Washington Post March 22, 2026 15:48 UTC