Is There a Way Out From Trump’s Iran Ultimatum?
Panicked, Donald Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure by 8 p.m. today unless concessions are made. But Iran’s position is stronger than the president is willing to admit.
Iranian analysts believe Donald Trump will follow through on his threat unless Iran issues a statement that can be sold in the US as a “win” for the president. (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
Even by his own standards, Donald Trump’s Easter Sunday ultimatum, posted on Truth Social, was shocking for its recklessness and the panic it betrayed — to say nothing of its Islamophobic clash-of-civilizations assumptions. Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” the president wrote. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
In a follow-up message posted the same day, Trump clarified that Iran must either “MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD!”
The Strait of Hormuz, the choke point through which a fifth of global oil and gas supplies passes, has effectively been closed by Iran for over five weeks. Oil prices have almost doubled, and the closure has precipitated a shortage in the supply of fertilizer and helium — byproducts of gas production — in global markets, portending a crisis for global harvests and microchip production. There is a broad consensus among analysts that Iran can keep the strait closed indefinitely simply by spooking shipping insurers.
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