The Trump Ultimatum: 48 Hours to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz

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Trump gave Iran 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to navigation or face the destruction of its energy infrastructure, as Tehran launched its most destructive attack to date on Israel.

The ultimatum, issued just a day after the US president declared that he planned to “end” military operations after three weeks of war, came as the main oil passage effectively remained closed and thousands of other US Marines were heading to the Middle East.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the United States would ”strike and destroy“ the Iranian power plants, ”starting with the largest first", if Tehran did not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours, or 23:44 GMT on Monday depending on the time of his post.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said Tehran had imposed restrictions only on ships from countries involved in attacks on Iran and would help others who remained out of the conflict.

In response to Trump's threat, the Iranian military said it would target energy and desalination infrastructure “belonging to the United States and the regime in the region,” according to the Fars news agency.

Trump's ultimatum came hours after two Iranian missiles struck southern Israel, injuring more than 100 people in the most destructive attack since the war began. Netanyahu, promised to fight back “on all fronts”.

The strikes, which passed through Israel's missile defense systems, tore the facades of residential buildings and dug craters in the ground.

First responders said 84 people were injured in the city of Arad, 10 of them seriously. A few hours earlier, 33 people had been injured in the nearby town of Dimona, where AFPTV images showed a large hole dug in the ground next to piles of rubble and twisted metal.

Dimona hosts a facility widely considered to be the site of the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, although Israel has never admitted to possessing nuclear weapons.

The Israeli military told Agence France-Presse that there had been a "direct missile strike on a building" in Dimona, with casualties reported at several sites, including a 10-year-old boy in serious condition with shrapnel.

Netanyahu promised to continue hitting Iran. A few hours later, the Israeli military said that its forces had launched a wave of strikes on Tehran.

#trump #stopthefire #hormuz #japan #iran #tehran #attack

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Iran, quant à lui, said the targeting of Dimona was a retaliatory measure against Israeli strikes on its Natanz nuclear facility, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) saying the forces had also targeted other cities in southern Israel as well as military sites in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

After the Natanz attack, the head of the UN nuclear surveillance, Rafael Grossi, reiterated his call for “military restraint to avoid any risk of nuclear accident”.

The Natanz facility houses underground centrifuges used to enrich uranium for Iran's disputed nuclear program; it suffered damage in the June 2025 war.

The Israeli military denied being behind the Natanz strike, but said it struck a facility at a Tehran university that it said was being used to develop nuclear weapons components for Iran's ballistic missile program.

The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday it was facing air attacks after Iran warned it against authorizing strikes from its territory on disputed islands near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has choked off the vital waterway, which carries a fifth of the world's peacetime crude oil trade.

The impasse has pushed up crude oil prices, with Brent North Sea crude now trading above $105 a barrel, as the long-term consequences for the global economy become an acute concern.

A joint statement by the leaders of several countries – including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, South Korea, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, condemned the “de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces”.

“We express our willingness to contribute to the appropriate efforts to ensure a safe passage through the strait”, they said.

Trump called NATO allies “cowards" and urged them to secure the strait.

On Sunday, Japan said it may consider deploying its army for demining in the Strait of Hormuz, if a ceasefire is reached.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Toshimitsu Motegi, said “If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaking, then things like demining could happen”.

“It's purely hypothetical, but if a ceasefire was established and the naval mines created an obstacle, then I think it would be something to consider”, Motegi told Japanese television.

Japan's military actions are limited under its pacifist post-war constitution, but the 2015 security legislation allows Japan to use its self-defense forces abroad if an attack, including against a close security partner, threatens Japan's survival and no other means are available to deal with it.

#trump #stopthefire #hormuz #japan #iran #tehran #attack

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