Trump repeats threat to hit Iran's power plants if no deal reached


President Trump warns the US could hit all of Iran’s electricity plants and even hints at strikes against the country's oil industry if no agreement is reached between Washington and Tehran.
"If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants, very hard, and probably simultaneously," he said.
"We have not hit their oil, even though that's the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding. But we could hit it and it would be gone, and there's not a thing they could do about it."
Trump also said regime change was never the United States' objective in Iran.
"Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders' death," he said.
"I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America's military objectives shortly, very shortly," Trump added.
But he also warned that strikes will carry on for a few weeks.
"We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks, we're going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong."







The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia say their air defence systems have intercepted Iranian missiles and drones.
The UAE defence ministry said its air defences are “currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran,” adding that the sounds heard in the sky were the result of interceptions by defence systems.
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile headed toward the kingdom’s Eastern Province.
US President Donald Trump’s objectives in the campaign against the Iranian regime remain “clear and unchanging” while driving decisive progress, the White House said on Wednesday.
Trump will address the nation on Wednesday night on Operation Epic Fury, “a decisive campaign of American strength that is systematically dismantling the Iranian regime’s ability to threaten the United States and the free world," according to the White House.
In a statement, the White House said the operation aimed to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and production capacity, weaken its naval forces, cut support for allied groups, and prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
It said the campaign was being carried out with “unmatched power and precision” under Trump’s leadership.
Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said Iran would not stop the war until it secures what he described as its rights and deters its enemies.
“Until we make the enemy regret and obtain our definite rights, we will not let it go,” the former Revolutionary Guards commander said.
He added that the end of the war depended on the supreme leader and the Iranian people and warned the United States against assuming it could act and then leave the region without consequences.
Rezaei also questioned the idea of negotiations or a ceasefire, saying: “What does it mean to talk about negotiations and a ceasefire in these conditions?”
Claims about the residency status of the Iranian community in the United Arab Emirates are inaccurate, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding that Iranian residents remain a respected part of the country’s diverse social fabric.
“In light of what has been circulated of inaccurate media claims regarding the residency status of the Iranian community, the United Arab Emirates reassures residents that its institutional approach is based on solid foundations of approved procedures and frameworks,” the ministry said.
“These ensure the safety and well-being of all members of society, without exception,” it added.
The ministry said the UAE would continue to strengthen “a safe and stable environment based on the rule of law,” ensuring “the protection of the rights of all residents” and reflecting its “established values of tolerance and coexistence.”
The war pitting the United States and Israel against Iran is being fought across airspace and shipping lanes, but one of its most consequential economic effects may be unfolding elsewhere: the fragile commercial relationship between Tehran and the United Arab Emirates.
A series of recent economic measures taken by the UAE following Iranian attacks on Emirati infrastructure has exposed how deeply Iran’s external trade depends on Dubai’s role as a financial and logistical gateway.
The steps—ranging from restrictions on Iranian nationals to disruptions in financial and trade channels—highlight both the extent of interdependence between the two economies and the vulnerabilities that accompany it.
Iran’s consulate in Dubai confirmed that more than 1,200 Iranians were repatriated through indirect routes via Armenia and Afghanistan after direct travel links were suspended.
More consequential than these immediate measures, however, is the disruption of bilateral trade flows. The UAE is Iran’s second-largest trading partner after China and serves as a critical gateway for imports.
No container ships have been seen crossing from Emirati ports to Iran since the start of the conflict, according to Rebecca Gerdes, an analyst at data company Kpler.
According to official data, Emirati exports to Iran rose from about $5.2 billion in 2018—when the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal—to roughly $23 billion in recent years, accounting for more than one-third of Iran’s total imports.
Iran’s non-oil exports to the UAE have also grown, rising from $5.7 billion to nearly $8 billion.
Data from Kpler, seen by Iran International, indicates that Iran exports about 160,000 barrels per day of fuel oil (mazut) to the UAE, along with smaller volumes of other petroleum products such as LPG.
Services trade constitutes another vital channel. Iran imports roughly $23 billion in services annually—including logistics, engineering, insurance and trade facilitation—of which the UAE accounts for about 22 percent.
A substantial portion of this economic relationship also operates outside formal channels. Iran is estimated to import more than $20 billion worth of smuggled goods each year, much of it routed through the UAE.
Dubai has also served as a key node for currency exchange networks, document falsification related to oil shipments and other mechanisms used to circumvent international sanctions. Iranian exchange houses have played a central role in facilitating these activities.
Recent reports suggest that dozens of exchange operators with alleged links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been detained in the UAE as tensions escalated. While the full scope of these actions remains unclear, they point to a broader effort by Emirati authorities to tighten enforcement and limit illicit financial flows.
Iran’s recent military actions have targeted multiple locations in the UAE, including Fujairah—the country’s only oil export terminal outside the Strait of Hormuz—raising concerns about energy security and trade continuity.
A recent Goldman Sachs report warned that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could reduce the UAE’s GDP by as much as 6 percent in April alone, underscoring the broader regional economic risks posed by the conflict.
Yet the same dynamics also expose Iran’s vulnerabilities. The UAE’s role as a commercial, financial and logistical hub makes it difficult to replace in the short term.
Few countries possess the infrastructure, geographic proximity and established trade networks required to replicate Dubai’s function in Iran’s economic ecosystem.
Whether the UAE’s response becomes a decisive pressure point for Iran will depend on both the duration and the breadth of the restrictions.
In the short term, disruptions to trade, finance and logistics are likely to raise costs and complicate supply chains for Iranian importers. Over the longer term, sustained constraints could push Tehran to diversify routes and partners, though replacing the UAE’s role would be neither quick nor straightforward.
For now, the trajectory of tensions suggests that friction with the UAE may emerge as one of the most consequential external challenges to Iran’s trade architecture long after the current conflict subsides.