‘Maniacal tyrant’: Trump’s threat to attack Iran’s power plants sparks fierce backlash

By Press TV Website Staff

In a dramatic escalation of rhetoric, US President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran, threatening to “obliterate” the country’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz is fully opened for energy traffic.

The threat, posted on his social media platform Truth Social and amplified by the White House account, has drawn swift and fierce condemnation from lawmakers, legal experts, and military analysts, describing it as a move that is illegal, strategically incoherent, and indicative of a leader losing control of a war he started.

The war imposed on Iran entered its 23^rd day on Sunday with no end in sight. The unprovoked and illegal aggression was launched on February 28 with the assassination of Iran’s top leadership, including the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in an act of terrorism that drew strong Iranian retaliation.

“From 'help is on the way’ for Iranian protestors to threatening war crimes against an entire population,” wrote US Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, condemning the US president’s latest threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“The United States is being run by a maniacal tyrant hell bent on destroying this country and the world along with it.”

Trump’s ultimatum came as Iran has banned US ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, with some tankers even being struck in the strategic waterway for defying the ban.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a direct response to the ongoing American and Israeli bombing campaigns inside Iran, which have killed nearly 1,300 people so far, most of them ordinary civilians, including children and women.

“Does Trump only know how to make threats?” asked Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch.

“Hasn't he figured out that Iran is attacking oil and gas shipments in the Strait of Hormuz BECAUSE Israel and the US keep bombing Iran? Before escalating, why not try a ceasefire and see if that works? Or does Trump want a Vietnam redux?”

Reza Nasri, a legal analyst, noted that targeting Iran’s power plants, as the US president has warned, would constitute a war crime under international law.

He cited Additional Protocol I (Articles 48 & 52), which prohibits attacks on civilian objects unless they offer a “definite military advantage” at the time of the strike.

Nasri pointed to Trump’s own past statements that the Strait of Hormuz “doesn’t really affect” America and that “we don’t need it” to argue that any attack on Iranian power plants would lack the required military advantage, making it purely punitive and coercive, a violation of the Rome Statute.

“This pre-announced war crime must be halted,” Nasri wrote. “The United Nations Security Council is under an immediate Chapter VII obligation to demand cessation of the threat.”

Some military and geopolitical analysts expressed skepticism that Trump’s threat could achieve its stated goal, pointing to the decentralized nature of Iran’s electrical grid.

“This is a game that Trump will almost certainly lose, and very badly at that,” wrote Chamberlain’s Ghost, a social media user.

“Iran’s electrical power generation and grid are highly decentralised – there are well over 400 power stations of varying sizes but the largest accounts for only 2.9% of Iranian power generation.”

The analyst further noted that even Russia, with a far larger arsenal, has struggled to seriously degrade Ukraine’s more concentrated grid after months of sustained strikes.

He predicted that before Iran’s grid collapses, “Israel’s grid will be destroyed and the (Persian) Gulf states will be in flames,” calling Trump’s threat “more incoherent.”

Will Schryver, a social media user and analyst, characterized the ultimatum as “desperate bravado,” saying that US military resources are already strained after three weeks of war.

“I think US magazine depth is nearing exhaustion, and that, more significantly, US air fleet mission-capable rates have plummeted over the course of the past three weeks. This is desperate bravado speaking,” he wrote.

Stanly Johny (@johnstanly), a foreign affairs reporter from India, noted that none of Trump’s public threats since February have produced the desired outcomes.

“Since Feb 18, none of Trump’s public threats have worked. He said he wanted a say in the selection of the new supreme leader. Iran has a new SL. He said (Ayatollah) Mojtaba was not acceptable. (Ayatollah) Mojtaba is Iran’s leader now. He said 10 days ago, Iran would be hit 20 times harder if Hormuz is closed. Hormuz is still closed,” wrote Johny.

Senator Chris Murphy offered a blunt assessment of the US president’s state of mind.

“He’s lost control of the war and he is panicking,” he wrote in response to the new threat.

Others suggested the threat was a reaction to pressure from the Israeli regime following a major strike on the occupied territories on Saturday.

Adam Cochran noted an emergency meeting of Israel’s war cabinet, remarking that Trump’s ultimatum was a response to Israeli demands for escalation.

“Trump can’t afford another escalation and hopes bullying and threats will solve his problems,” he stated.

Mahdi Kharratiyan, a political analyst based in Iran, warned of its dangerous consequences.

“Any irreversible damage to our infrastructure will result in the irreversible closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” he stated.

Bushra Shaikh, a journalist and social media influencer, captured the sentiment of many who view the American threat as a miscalculation.

“This lunatic should be nowhere near power. He’s completely lost the plot. It’s OVER for Trump. He messed with the wrong country this time and is finding out. Iran has the right to defend itself,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, Iranian armed forces and resistance groups across the region continue to carry out retaliatory military operations against the United States and the Israeli regime.

Iranian armed forces have so far carried out 72 waves of missile and drone strikes with advanced weaponry targeting Israeli military facilities in the occupied territories, as well as US occupation bases and assets scattered across the West Asia region.

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