Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 23.03.2026
Trump said Sunday night that if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the United States will damage and destroy its power plants, starting with the largest plant. He added that Iran must open the strait “fully and without threats.”
Tehran’s decision to block the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S.-Israeli attacks has significantly harmed energy supplies and global trade. About one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait. Saudi oil industry officials told the Wall Street Journal over the weekend that if the war continues until the end of April, the price of oil could reach more than $180 a barrel.
Trump demanded that countries send warships to the Strait of Hormuz. They are not answered. Trump knew that Iran might close the Strait of Hormuz, but believed that before it closed the Strait of Hormuz, Iran would surrender. Through the straits 20% of the oil consumed by many states used to pass.
Since Iran began preventing ships from passing through the strait, U.S president Donald Trump has demanded that allied countries secure it and even threatened them to do so. In a post published yesterday on the social network truth social, Trump stressed that the countries that use the strait must secure it, and that it is not the job of the United States. He added that if requested, the United States will assist these countries.But he estimated that this would not be necessary once the threat from Iran was removed, and that in any case, “it would be an easy military operation for them.”
On Friday, 21 countries issued a joint statement saying they were ready to assist in efforts to allow the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. The signatories to the declaration are Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and New Zealand. In their statement, the countries strongly condemned Iran’s de facto closure of the strait, its attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf, and attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas facilities.
Iran’s military responded by saying that if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure were damaged, all energy infrastructure in the region belonging to the United States would be attacked. This will only strengthen China, which allows its ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and Russia, which has a lot of oil.
It’s hard to know what Trump, who changes his positions every day, will do. There is a chance that after 48 hours, he will be ready to lift sanctions on Iran. Iran cannot agree to open Hormuz as it is its most important weapon in the war against the imperialists.