Trump vows to ‘hit and obliterate’ Iran’s power plants if it fails to reopen strait of Hormuz by his deadline – key US politics stories from 22 March at a glance
Donald Trump has given Iran 48 hours to reopen the strait of Hormuz to shipping or face the destruction of its energy infrastructure, as Tehran launched its most destructive attack yet on Israel.
The ultimatum, made just a day after the US president said he was considering “winding down” military operations after three weeks of war, came as the key oil passage remained effectively closed and thousands more US Marines headed to the Middle East.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US would “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants – “starting with the biggest one first” – if Tehran did not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours, or 23:44 GMT on Monday according to the time of his post.
Tehran in response said it will “irreversibly destroy” essential infrastructure across the Middle East, including vital water systems, if the US follows through on Donald Trump’s threat.
Here are the main stories:
Trump’s ultimatum came hours after two Iranian missiles struck southern Israel, injuring more than 100 people in the most destructive attack since the war began. The Israel prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to retaliate “on all fronts”.
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Donald Trump and his border tsar, Tom Homan, have confirmed that the president’s administration is sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to US airports beginning Monday to assist with security amid extremely long lines – and to help airport security agents who have been working without pay since 14 February because of a partial government shutdown.
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“He tends to be naive about how things can happen,” Leon Panetta, a former US defence secretary and Central Intelligence Agency director, told the Guardian. “If he says it and keeps saying it there’s always a hope that what he says will come true. But that’s what kids do. It’s not what presidents do.”
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Donald Trump has endorsed Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who faces his toughest electoral challenge next month since taking power 16 years ago, as Europe’s far-right leaders gather for a “grand assembly” in Budapest.
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During Donald Trump’s second administration, the SEC has retreated from its prior approach under Joe Biden’s administration, as well as the first Trump administration, which entailed regulating the sector through frequent enforcement actions and approaching a wide slate of crypto-assets as securities.
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Federal prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a woman accused of participating in a controversial January protest at a Minnesota church after the woman apparently did not attend the event at all.
Donald Trump’s nomination of Republican senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to be the president’s next head of homeland security on Sunday advanced toward final confirmation after the US Senate voted 54-37 to limit debate on the appointment.
Officials have warned of serious consequences after the number of volunteer firefighters, the bedrock of firefighting in the US, plunged, leading to entire departments closing in some states.
Trump and RFK Jr touted leucovorin as a treatment for autism. Then the FDA quietly walked it back.
Last week, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency registered the alien.gov and aliens.gov web domains, adding both to the official government website registry.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 21 March 2026.