The situation around the Strait of Hormuz is heating up after Trump's threats. What the media is writing

US President Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum to Iran, demanding the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and threatening attacks on power plants in case of failure. In response, Tehran warned of attacks on infrastructure in the Middle East. Trump's new demand escalates the conflict and threatens new shocks to the global economy. How the media reacts to the almost expired ultimatum is in the Izvestia digest.

Bloomberg: Trump and Iran threaten war amid escalating Hormuz crisis

Trump has given Iran a two-day deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, otherwise its power plants will be bombed. The US president, under pressure to reduce skyrocketing oil prices, said that Tehran should "fully open, without threats," a vital waterway for energy flows. In a message posted on Truth Social on March 21 at 19:44 New York time (2:44 Moscow time on March 22), he gave the Islamic Republic 48 hours "from now on."

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said over the weekend that the intensity of military attacks by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the United States on Iran and its infrastructure "will increase significantly" next week. The rhetoric indicates that neither side is ready to back down. The latest threats follow a week of massive strikes on critical energy infrastructure in the Middle East, adding to the risk of long-term global economic consequences.

The Washington Post: Trump's threats raise the specter of the battle for the Strait of Hormuz

The deployment of additional American troops to the Middle East and President Donald Trump's threat to "destroy" Iran's energy infrastructure have created the prerequisites for what American and Israeli security experts increasingly see as a possible endgame of the war: the battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz and key energy facilities. Weakening Iranian dominance over the Strait could allow Trump to wind down the war, declare victory, stop the growing global energy crisis and deprive Iran of a powerful deterrent against future strikes.

The new deployment of American troops indicates a plan to "capture the island and the strait," an Israeli official said, referring to Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub. This could allow the United States and Israel to deprive Tehran of oil revenues and provide a political outlet to the president, who, according to an Israeli official, "needs to show that the strait is open."

Associated Press: Trump's change of course raises questions about U.S. preparations for war

Trump, being at war with Iran, is sorting out more and more desperate solutions to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. He has moved from calling for securing the waterway through diplomatic means to lifting sanctions, and now he is voicing a direct threat to civilian infrastructure in the Islamic Republic. Trump and his allies insist that they have always been ready for Iran to block the strait, but the president's inconsistent strategy has drawn criticism for trying to find answers after the outbreak of war without a clear exit plan.

Trump's ultimatum contains a threat of unprecedented aggression. Earlier, he mainly talked about the success of the United States in attacking the Iranian Air Force, Navy and missile production. This time, the target of the threat was the energy infrastructure. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) controls a significant part of the country's infrastructure and uses it to support military operations. He said that potential targets could be "gas-fired thermal power plants and other types of enterprises."

CNN: Trump's new red line is leading the war with Iran down a fatal path

Trump has reached a point where rhetorical confusion and contradictory threats can no longer hide the consequences of his decisions. Perhaps he is about to check whether the escalation of the conflict can somehow point to a way out of the situation, or whether it will only worsen the economic and political consequences that he is already struggling to cope with. In the near term, the president has drawn a huge new red line for himself, and there is no sign that Iran will give in by the deadline.

Trump's new dilemma is fueling concerns and criticism about his lack of strategy or the end result of a war he started without consulting Congress or convincing the American people of its costs. Further escalation will almost certainly exacerbate the global consequences of the unpopular conflict within the country.

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Axios: Oil prices are unstable after Trump's threats regarding the Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices remain well above $100 per barrel after the markets open on March 22. This indicates that traders do not foresee an early end to the conflict and highly assess the risks to oil transit in the Strait of Hormuz, through which supplies are severely limited. On the evening of March 22, the global benchmark Brent crude oil rose to about $113 per barrel, and then declined slightly and fluctuated around the $111 mark.

Former Energy Minister Dan Brouillette said that, in his opinion, prices will decrease rapidly after the end of the war. And NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that 22 countries — mostly members of NATO, as well as Japan, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and others — are working on a UK-led initiative to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz.