TEHRAN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday warned that energy and oil infrastructure across the region could face "irreversible" destruction if the United States targets Iran's power plants.
Ghalibaf's remarks on social media platform X came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to "hit and obliterate" Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened within 48 hours.
Ghalibaf wrote that any attacks would make "vital infrastructure and energy and oil facilities throughout the region...legitimate targets" and cause oil prices to rise for an extended period.
Earlier Sunday, Iran's primary military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued a similar warning, saying attacks on Iranian fuel and energy infrastructure would trigger strikes on U.S. and Israeli energy, IT, and water desalination facilities in West Asia.
In a March 12 post on X, former Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, later killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, warned that destroying Iran's electricity capacity could plunge the region "into darkness within half an hour."
The U.S.-Israel campaign, which began Feb. 28, has killed senior Iranian figures, including former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, military commanders, and civilians. Iran has responded with multiple missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. bases across the Middle East.
On Sunday, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said its 73rd wave of drone and missile strikes killed and wounded more than 200 people in Israel. Targets included military facilities and security centers in Israeli cities of Arad, Dimona, Eilat, Be'er Sheva, and Kiryat Gat, as well as several U.S. bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Separately, the Iranian army reported launching an attack on Israel's Ben Gurion Airport using domestically produced Arash-2 drones, according to the official IRNA news agency. ■
