US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned that the US would obliterate Iranian power plants if Tehran doesn’t "fully open" the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping within 48 hours. Trump set a Monday deadline of around 7:45 p.m. EDT, which is 5:15 am on Tuesday in Indian Standard Time.
Now, with the Hormuz deadline approaching, the expectation is that the President will order attacks on Iranian power plants. If Iran does not give in to that deadline, White House officials have reportedly told their Israeli counterparts that it plans a weeks-long operation to reopen the waterway. The administration is reportedly considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Israel’s Channel 12.
Washington is adamant that it will not allow Iran to take the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil flows. For this, a change of strategy is needed.
Senior US officials have also told their counterparts in Israel that there appears to be no alternative but to launch a ground military operation to seize the Kharg Island, the oil hub of Iran. A US official told The Jerusalem Post that the US military has accelerated the deployment of thousands of Marines and Navy personnel to the Middle East.
Meanwhile, it is expected that the US Navy’s USS Tripoli, carrying over 2000 Marines, will arrive in the Middle East tomorrow or Wednesday. The US has also deployed the US Navy’s Amphibious Assault Group led by USS Boxer. The vessel set sail for the Middle East after loading Marines and helicopters from Camp Pendleton in San Diego, accompanied by the dock-landing ship USS Comstock and amphibious transport dock USS Portland.
