Israel ready to begin striking Iranian energy infrastructure, after Trump issues new 48-hour deadline

Israel is preparing to attack Iranian energy ‌infrastructure, after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new 48-hour ultimatum on Saturday, but is waiting for Trump to give “a green light,” Reuters reported. 

Reuters cited a senior Israeli defense official, who said that any Israeli strikes would likely come later this week. 

The Israeli plan reportedly includes strategic strikes on the country’s electricity infrastructure, major power stations, oil pumping facilities, and refineries. The objective is apparently to degrade the regime’s ability to rehabilitate its military infrastructure. Both the U.S. and Israel are reported to be focusing on infrastructure with clear dual-use status, while preserving civilian-only infrastructure. 

On Saturday, Trump posted a message to his Truth Social account, saying he was giving the Iranian regime 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz. 

“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to 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!” Trump wrote. 

According to a report in The Telegraph, the IDF is ready to “expand its bank of targets” by launching strikes against energy infrastructure in Iran. 

Trump had previously set a 10-day deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic. 

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that aides to President Trump advised the U.S. president that power plants and bridges in the country constitute legitimate targets, due to their dual use nature, and could help cripple the nation’s nuclear and weapons programs. 

The deadline set by President Trump will expire on Monday. The last time President Trump set a similar deadline, he extended it, claiming the Iranian regime had begun negotiations with the U.S. government. However, despite admitting that there have been indirect contacts with the U.S., Iranian officials have insisted that there are no direct negotiations. 

The Iranian government responded to Trump’s ultimatum with threats of its own, saying  its forces would turn the region into a “hell” for the U.S. 

“Do not forget that if aggression expands, the entire region will turn into a hell for you,” a regime spokesman said in a statement to Iranian media. 

“The illusion of defeating the Islamic Republic of Iran has turned into a swamp in which you will sink.” 

Trump’s ultimatum came shortly before he announced the successful rescue of the second F-15 crew member from Iran over the weekend. Around the same time as the rescue operation was going on in western Iran, the U.S. and Israel carried out heavy strikes in Tehran on regime targets. 

Trump had previously stated that he would hit Iran “extremely hard” in the final weeks of the war. 

"Very shortly, we are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," Trump said in his address to the American nation on Wednesday. Trump also said the U.S. is “nearing completion” of its "core strategic objectives" in the war. 

The IDF also confirmed striking a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr, southwestern Iran. The facilities were used “for producing materials for explosives, ballistic missiles, and other weapons,” the military said. 

⭕️✈️24 HOUR RECAP: The IAF struck 120+ targets of the Iranian regime in central & western Iran.

Targets included: ballistic missiles array sites, UAV production and launching sites, & air defense sites. pic.twitter.com/8ivPlbdm7y

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 5, 2026

The IDF also said the facility is one of the central sites where a material essential for ballistic missiles is produced.