The United States' recent strikes in Iran indicate a potential escalation in military strategy, with President Donald Trump signaling a willingness to target civilian infrastructure, according to a new report. While previous US actions have primarily focused on military installations near the Strait of Hormuz, the recent bombardments have also impacted Iran's state-run electrical grid, damaging over 2,000 points, according to Arab media.
Experts suggest these attacks on infrastructure were not accidental, occurring shortly after Trump reiterated his threat to disrupt Iran's power supply if Tehran did not return to negotiations. "They [US] struck support infrastructure while Trump is threatening to take the power," Sascha Bruchmann, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told The Daily Telegraph. "So there’s now a little bit more of a threat in the air than just pure military targets."
Mohammad Allah-Dad, head of Iran's state-run Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company (Tavanir), reported that the latest American strikes caused approximately $1 billion in damages to the grid. The existing strain on the power grid has already forced Tavanir to implement a 4,200-megawatt reduction in capacity.
Trump has previously stated his intention to target energy infrastructure. "I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets," Trump said in an interview with Fox News. The United Nations Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, has cautioned that such attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.
Danny Citrinowicz, former head of the Iran division of Israel Defense Intelligence, commented that Trump may feel compelled to escalate the conflict to break the current stalemate concerning the Strait of Hormuz. "The dilemma is quite simple: At the end of the day, if he wants to take control over the straits, he will need to take over the straits," Citrinowicz told The Wall Street Journal. "He is not able to reach his military or strategic objectives with the force he has now."
In response to the potential threat to its civilian infrastructure, Iran has reportedly instructed the Houthi rebel group in Yemen to prepare to close the Red Sea trade route. According to three sources who spoke to Reuters, the Iran-backed group has deployed drones and missiles near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and is awaiting orders. An attack on this strait, a critical waterway responsible for the annual transport of $1 trillion worth of goods, would significantly disrupt global oil and trade supplies. The Red Sea has become a vital alternative for oil transport, particularly for Saudi Arabia, due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and currently handles about 7% of the world's global energy supply.