explainer
President Trump has threatened to attack Iranian energy facilities if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen within 48 hours. Tehran vows revenge.
Published March 22, 2026
US President Donald Trump has threatened to “destroy” Iran’s power plants if it does not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days, as Israel launches a new offensive against Tehran and explosions are reported in the eastern part of the city.
Meanwhile, Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel and other countries in the region continue, with nearly 100 people injured in an Iranian missile attack on a town near an Israeli nuclear facility.
Following Iran’s attacks on the towns of Arad and Dimona, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had “suffered a very difficult night in the fight for our future.”
Here’s what you need to know as the US and Israel’s war against Iran enters its 23rd day.
in iran
Following an Iranian missile attack on southern Israel, Israel launched a new offensive against Tehran on Sunday, with explosions reported in the eastern part of the city. Iran’s military has threatened to attack all energy infrastructure linked to the United States and Israel in the Middle East if the country’s power plants are targeted, after President Trump threatened new attacks. According to the Tasnim news agency, the Iranian military announced that it would intercept US and Israeli armed drones over Tehran before carrying out combat operations. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed on Saturday that its air defense forces shot down an Israeli fighter jet in Iranian airspace, making it the third such incident reported during the war. Israel has not confirmed this. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Israel and the United States targeted the country’s Natanz nuclear facility in a “criminal attack” on Saturday. The Iranian government also reported the attack to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which said no unusual radiation leaks were detected. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on the BRICS alliance, currently chaired by India, to “play an independent role in preventing aggression against Iran.” He also proposed establishing a regional security framework for West Asian countries. Iranian state television said the death toll from the US and Israeli attacks now exceeds 1,500, with at least 20,984 injured, seven hospitals evacuated and 36 ambulances damaged, according to the Health Ministry.
on the bay
Officials said Saudi Arabia intercepted about 60 Iranian drones, most of them targeting the country’s eastern province, where the country’s energy facilities and resources are located. The Ministry of Defense also announced that three ballistic missiles were launched towards Riyadh province. It is said that one of the planes was intercepted, and the other one fell into an uninhabited area. After Qatar took similar action on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia declared it had ordered a number of Iranian diplomatic staff, including attaché Persona non Grata, to leave the country within 24 hours. In Bahrain, Iranian missiles targeted US military bases after Iranian state television claimed earlier attacks on al-Minhad base in the United Arab Emirates and Ali al-Salem air base in Kuwait, where US and British troops are stationed. Bahrain’s military said its air defense forces shot down 143 missiles and 242 drones launched by Iran during the war. Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said it was carrying out a search operation after a helicopter suffered a technical failure during a routine mission and crashed into regional waters.
in the US
President Trump threatened to attack Iranian energy facilities in a post on Truth Social. “If Iran does not fully open the Strait of Hormuz without threat within 48 hours from this point, the United States will attack and destroy various Iranian power plants, starting with the largest and starting with the largest!” he wrote. President Trump claimed that the United States is “weeks ahead of schedule” in the war against Iran and reiterated that the United States has no intention of making a deal with Iran because “leadership is gone, our navy and air force are crippled, and we have no defense whatsoever.” President Trump reiterated that Iran wants a “deal.” However, Iranian leaders have denied such earlier claims. Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said the U.S. military dropped multiple 5,000-pound (2,270 kg) bombs on underground facilities off Iran’s coast that stored equipment such as anti-ship cruise missiles and mobile missile launchers, undermining the country’s ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz.
in israel
Iranian missile attacks penetrated Israeli defenses in the country’s south and hit the cities of Dimona and Arad, injuring around 100 people. The Revolutionary Guards said recent missile volleys targeted Israeli military installations and security centers in the cities of Arad, Dimona, Eilat, Beersheba and Kiryat Ghat. Tehran claimed more than 200 people were killed in the attack. No deaths were reported in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in response to the Iranian attack in southern Israel that “we are reinforcing the emergency rescue forces currently operating on the ground.” The IAEA said it was aware of reports of a missile strike in the Israeli city of Dimona, adding there was no sign of damage to the Negev’s nuclear research center. Israel’s Ministry of Education canceled all in-person classes nationwide on Sunday and Monday. Israel’s Home Front Command has banned gatherings of more than 50 people in the country’s south until Tuesday. The Israeli military said it struck more than 200 locations in Iran and Lebanon over the weekend, targeting missile launchers, air defense systems and military bases. An Israeli military spokesperson said Israeli air defense systems were activated during the attack but were unable to intercept some of the missiles, although they were not “special or unfamiliar” missiles. A spokesman said the military would investigate the incident and “learn from it”. Israel’s Ministry of Health said at least 4,292 injured people have been taken to hospitals since the start of the war.
in Iraq and Lebanon
Hezbollah said it fired a barrage of rockets at Israeli soldiers patrolling southern Lebanon. Another Hezbollah mortar attack in northern Israel wounded two Israeli reservists. Iraq’s Islamic resistance group announced 21 attacks on US military bases in the country and across the region in the past 24 hours. Three drones were intercepted near Erbil Airport, and a fire broke out nearby. Another drone crashed in Al Sayyida district, southwest of the capital Baghdad, injuring four people.
At the Strait of Hormuz
The UAE, Bahrain, Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement condemning Iranian attacks on merchant ships and civilian infrastructure in the Gulf. The statement accused Iran of “effectively closing” the Strait of Hormuz and called for an immediate end to intimidation, mine-laying, and drone and missile attacks.
U.S.-British Joint Base Diego Garcia
Britain accused Iran of firing a ballistic missile at Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-British base in the Indian Ocean, but said the attack failed. A senior Iranian official told Al Jazeera that Iran was not responsible for the missile attack on Diego Garcia. Diego Garcia, about 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) from Iranian territory, is one of two bases that Britain has authorized the United States to use for “defensive operations” in its war against Iran.
