President Donald Trump has said the United States possesses the capability to cripple Iran’s power grid and electricity infrastructure within an hour but has chosen not to take such action.
Trump made the remark on Wednesday while addressing journalists at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after returning from a trip to Kentucky.
According to him, although the United States has the military capacity to destroy Iran’s power grid, Washington is deliberately avoiding such strikes because of the long-term damage they could cause.
“We could take apart their electric capacity within one hour, and it would take them 25 years to rebuild it. We won’t do that,” Trump said.
He said the main objective was ensuring that Iran could not rebuild its military capacity.
“The main thing is we have to win this… We don’t want to let it regrow,” Trump said.
The US president added that American forces had already significantly weakened Iran’s military capabilities in the ongoing conflict.
Trump claimed Iranian naval forces had been largely neutralised and that US operations had dealt heavy blows to the country’s defence systems.
He noted, however, that the United States was still closely monitoring strategic areas such as the Strait of Hormuz while continuing military operations aimed at preventing Iran from rebuilding its military strength.
“We’re just riding free range over that country,” he said, insisting that Iran’s ability to sustain prolonged military resistance had been severely reduced.
Despite the strong rhetoric, Trump maintained that Washington preferred to avoid targeting Iran’s critical civilian infrastructure, including the national electricity system.
The comments come amid escalating tensions in the Middle East as the United States and its allies continue military operations against Iranian forces.