Trump promises to bring "hell" to Iran on Tuesday evening. What exactly? The US intends to bomb the country's largest power plants and plunge the nation "into the Stone Age." Both human rights activists and politicians within the US and beyond have already stated that strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure will be a war crime.
Trump does not respond to such invectives. The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources in the White House, that the plan for these strikes has undergone preliminary legal assessment — and the president has been convinced that he will not commit war crimes, as electricity is used by Iranian military as well, as quoted by "Meduza".
It is unclear how strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure will help unblock the Strait of Hormuz. Likely, the American leadership hopes that the Islamic Republic will feel the increased military pressure and will ultimately surrender. However, so far, as pressure has intensified, the Iranian leadership has only demonstrated greater intransigence.
Iran has already promised to respond to strikes on its energy infrastructure with strikes on the critical civilian infrastructure of US allies in the Middle East. This includes not only power plants but also desalination plants, without which Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE cannot survive. These facilities have already been subjected to Iranian strikes — albeit isolated ones.
It is unclear whether Iran can significantly intensify its strikes against its neighbors: its stock of missiles is limited, and replenishing it is nearly impossible. Even if it manages to destroy a power plant or a desalination facility, the affected country will have sources to receive assistance. As for Iran, if it loses a significant portion of its generation capacity, there will be no help coming its way.
