The United States will destroy Iran's power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not fully opened within 48 hours, US President Donald Trump threatened in a Truth Social post on Saturday night.
"If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS," Trump wrote.
The US strikes will start with "the biggest one [power plant] first," Trump stated.
Trump's statement follows a report in Japanese media that Tehran is ready to let Japanese-related vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The report came from Kyodo News, citing Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Tehran has started talks with Tokyo about possibly opening the Strait, Araghchi told the Japanese news agency in a phone interview on Friday.
Meanwhile, the US and its allies have ramped up efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, deploying low-flying warplanes to strike Iranian boats and Apache helicopters to intercept drones, US officials told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
Iran considers transit fees for ships passing through strategic Strait of Hormuz
On Thursday, Reuters cited an Iranian lawmaker reporting that Iran is considering a proposal to levy transit fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a potential bid to monetise Tehran's newfound grip over the critical waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas passes.
Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Tehran has disrupted maritime transit through the strait for vessels it says are linked to its war adversaries and their allies.
According to the Iranian Students' News Agency, the lawmaker said parliament was considering a bill under which countries using the strait for shipping, energy transit, and food supplies would be required to pay tolls and taxes to Iran.
Sam Halpern, Amichai Stein, and Reuters contributed to this report.