President Donald Trump escalated his confrontation with Iran on Sunday 5th of April, 2026 with a profanity-laced post on Truth Social, threatening to bomb the country’s power plants and bridges if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The outburst came as Trump’s 10-day deadline to Iran was set to expire Monday, with the president having previously threatened to bomb the country’s energy, water, and oil infrastructure if no deal was reached to reopen the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to shipping by Iranian strikes since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran that killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Over the past ten days, the U.S. and Iran have held indirect negotiations through Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey in an attempt to reach a ceasefire deal in exchange for reopening the strait, though no significant progress has been achieved.
Iran’s counterattacks have struck U.S. bases across the Gulf and strategic Gulf infrastructure, causing a global shortage of oil and energy supplies and sending gas prices in the United States skyrocketing.
Iran swiftly condemned Trump’s latest threats. Iran’s mission to the United Nations called on the international community to act, stating that Trump was “openly threatening to destroy infrastructure essential to civilian survival in Iran” and warning that “tomorrow is too late.”
Iranian officials also signaled the strait would only be reopened following the payment of reparations for war damages, framed as transit fees under a proposed new legal regime governing passage through the waterway.
Meanwhile, a key advisor to Iran’s new Supreme Leader warned that Tehran could extend disruptions to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a move that would further threaten global shipping through the Suez Canal.
