Trump threatens to attack Iran’s power plants

President Trump has warned that he is preparing to strike Iranian power plants and bridges as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalate sharply following

a series of exchanges between the two sides this week, the New York Post has reported.

What Trump Said

In a phone call with Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst on Wednesday, Trump said he was getting close to ordering new strikes against Iranian power plants and bridges. He accused Iran of stringing the United States along during the negotiating process, a charge that marked a dramatic shift from just days earlier when he had described a deal as being within reach in two to three days.

Trump also took to Truth Social to lay out his frustration in forceful terms, writing that Iran had taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them and that the country would now have to pay the price. He declared that much of Iran's navy and air force no longer existed and that the country had been completely defeated.

What Sparked This Round of Escalation

The latest flare-up traces back to Monday, when an Iranian drone struck a US Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Trump told Fox News the drone lodged itself between the two pilots and burst into flames without exploding. The pilots managed to bring the stricken aircraft down into the sea within seconds. They were rescued roughly two hours later by an unmanned sea drone, marking what US Central Command described as a first for the US military.

US Strikes Iran, Iran Strikes Back

The US carried out what it called self-defense strikes on Iran on Tuesday evening in retaliation for the helicopter incident. Trump said he ordered overnight strikes targeting runways, radar systems and air defence sites that Iran had been rebuilding during the ceasefire period. According to Fox News, citing Trump, US forces took out around 55% of what Iran had managed to rebuild.

Iran did not hold back in response. On Wednesday morning, it launched drone and missile strikes targeting US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

Iran Warns Gulf Neighbors

Beyond the direct strikes, Iran also turned up the diplomatic pressure on its neighbours. Tehran's Foreign Ministry warned Gulf states that they had a legal and moral responsibility to stop the US and Israel from using their territory or facilities to carry out or support hostile actions against Iran, CBS News reported. Iran called on those countries to halt the strikes, warning of further attacks if they failed to act.

Where Things Stand

The escalation represents a significant rupture in what had been, until this week, an active if difficult negotiating process. As recently as Tuesday, Trump had described efforts to reach a deal with Tehran as being in their final throes. The question now is whether both sides can pull back from the brink before the situation deteriorates further.