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CAIRO — <\/span>President Donald Trump<\/a> warned that the United States will \u201cobliterate\u201d power plants in Iran if the Islamic Republic doesn\u2019t fully open the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> within 48 hours. Iranian missiles struck two communities not far from Israel\u2019s main nuclear research center late Saturday, leaving buildings shattered and dozens injured in the attacks.<\/p>\n The developments signaled the war<\/a> was moving in a dangerous new direction at the start of its fourth week. <\/p>\n Trump, who issued the ultimatum in a social media post while he spent the weekend at his Florida home, said he\u2019s giving Iran 48 hours to open the vital waterway or face a new round of attacks. He said the U.S. would destroy \u201cvarious POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!\u201d<\/p>\n Iran warned early Sunday that any strike on its energy facilities would prompt attacks on U.S. and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets \u2014 specifically information technology and desalination facilities \u2014 in the region, according to a statement citing an Iranian military spokesperson carried by state media and semiofficial outlets.<\/p>\n The Strait of Hormuz,<\/a> which connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe\u2019s oceans, is a critical pathway for the world\u2019s flow of oil<\/a>. Attacks on commercial ships<\/a> and threats of further strikes have stopped nearly all tankers from carrying oil, gas and other goods<\/a> through the passage, leading to cuts in output from some of the world\u2019s largest oil producers, because their crude has nowhere to go.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military said it was not able to intercept missiles that hit the southern cities of Dimona and Arad, the largest near the center in Israel\u2019s sparsely populated Negev desert. It was the first time Iranian missiles penetrated Israel\u2019s air defense systems in the area around the nuclear site.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Israeli regime is unable to intercept missiles in the heavily protected Dimona area, it is, operationally, a sign of entering a new phase of the battle,\u201d Iran\u2019s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X before word of the Arad strike spread.<\/p>\n Rescue workers said the direct hit in Arad caused widespread damage across at least 10 apartment buildings, three of them badly damaged and in danger of collapsing. At least 64 people were taken to hospitals.<\/p>\n Dimona is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the nuclear research center and Arad around 35 kilometers (22 miles) north.<\/p>\n Israel is believed to be the only Middle East nation with nuclear weapons<\/a>, though its leaders refuse to confirm or deny their existence. The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on X it had not received reports of damage to the Israeli center or abnormal radiation levels.<\/p>\n The Iranian strikes in Israel came after Tehran\u2019s main nuclear enrichment site at Natanz<\/a> was hit earlier in the day. <\/p>\n Israel earlier Saturday denied responsibility for the strike on Natanz, nearly 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran. The Iranian judiciary\u2019s official news agency, Mizan, said there was no leakage.<\/p>\n The International Atomic Energy Agency has said the bulk of Iran\u2019s estimated 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium is elsewhere, beneath the rubble at its Isfahan facility. It said on X it was looking into the strike.<\/p>\n The Pentagon declined to comment on the strike on Natanz, which was also hit in the first week of the war and in the 12-day war<\/a> last June. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said such strikes posed a \u201creal risk of catastrophic disaster throughout the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. and Israel have offered shifting rationales<\/a> for the war, from hoping to foment an uprising<\/a> that topples Iran\u2019s leadership to eliminating its nuclear and missile programs<\/a> and its support for armed proxies. There have been no signs of an uprising, while internet restrictions limit information from Iran.<\/p>\n The war\u2019s effects are felt far beyond the Middle East, raising food and fuel prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n So far in Iran, the death toll in the war has surpassed 1,500, the state broadcaster reported Saturday, citing the health ministry. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles and four others have died in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, along with well over a dozen civilians in Gulf nations.<\/p>\n