US President Donald Trump has once again warned that if Iran does not comply by April 7, the US military will target Iranian infrastructure next.
After attacking Iran’s Ghadir Bridge last week, the US president said on Sunday that further attacks targeting power plants across Iran will be carried out unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said: “Tuesday is Power Plant Day and Bridge Day rolled into one in Iran. There’s no better day than this!!! Open the Straits, you crazy bastards, or you’ll live in hell – watch! Praise be to Allah.”
President Trump’s latest warning comes as the vital seaway remains closed to global shipping for more than three weeks. As the Strait of Hormuz accounts for approximately 20% to 30% of the world’s total oil consumption and transport, disruption of this vital waterway has led to soaring global oil prices.
Since then, President Trump has set a series of deadlines for Iran to meet demands to reopen the strait or face a devastating military attack on its energy grid.
In a media appearance after Sunday’s remarks, President Trump said there was a “good chance” a deal could be reached on Monday, but warned that he was considering “blowing everything up and taking over the oil” if talks break down.
However, Iranian leaders have not softened their stance, instead warning that any attack on Iranian infrastructure would be met “in the same way” and “we will respond in kind.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in recent comments that “our military has made it clear that it will respond in kind if Iranian infrastructure is attacked (…) Our military will target similar infrastructure that is owned by or in any way associated with the United States or that contributes to U.S. acts of aggression against Iran.”
Iran is considering imposing a transit fee to compensate for infrastructure damage and plans to keep the strait closed, Iranian Presidential Spokesman Mahdi Tabatabai said.
Tabatabay said the strait would be reopened once part of the transit fee is used to compensate for all the damage caused.
Meanwhile, General Ali Abdullahi Aliabadi, head of Iran’s Central Command, called President Trump’s threat a “powerless, insensitive, unbalanced and foolish move,” adding that “the gates of hell will open” for the US leader.
The US could invade Iran’s spooky market
As tensions escalate, the probability of a US invasion has increased to 63% on the platform Polymarket. This is starting to weigh on investor sentiment across the market, including cryptocurrencies.
Brent crude, widely used as a pricing benchmark in global spot oil markets, is still rising, closing at more than $109 a barrel on Thursday. Trading is expected to resume on Monday, and the latest developments could put further pressure on the market and put Bitcoin’s near-term recovery at risk.
The flagship cryptocurrency has rebounded from last week’s lows of nearly $66,000 and was trading just below $69,200 at press time. Over the same period, the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies increased by 2.2%.
