After President Donald Trump warned that the United States could target Iran’s energy infrastructure, critics overlooked that such strikes have been a standard practice of modern warfare for nearly a century.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump posted Sunday on Truth Social. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F*ckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
He reiterated the warning Monday, telling reporters, “Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again. I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to — we don’t want that to happen.”
Critics responded by warning such actions could violate international law. A spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned against targeting civilian infrastructure. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-NJ) accused Trump of proposing “mass war crimes,” arguing that destroying bridges and power plants would both harm innocent civilians and fail to reopen the Strait. Erika Guevara-Rosas of Amnesty International similarly stated that attacks on power plants are “generally prohibited” and could be unlawful if they cause disproportionate civilian harm.
Yet targeting energy and infrastructure has long been a cornerstone of military strategy.
During World War II, during the Ploești Raids in 1943 (Operation Tidal Wave), U.S. bombers launched a high-risk raid on the Romanian oil refineries that supplied roughly 30% of Nazi Germany’s fuel. By 1944, relentless bombing of coal-to-liquid fuel plants (like those at Leuna) helped cripple German military operations due to fuel shortages.
In the Korean War, Operation Pressure Pump in 1952 saw U.S. forces attack major hydroelectric plants, knocking out roughly 90% of North Korea’s power grid and even causing blackouts in parts of China.
During the Vietnam War, in Operation Rolling Thunder, the U.S. targeted North Vietnamese petroleum, oil, and lubricant (POL) storage facilities. Later in the war, during Operation Linebacker, the U.S. used “smart bombs” (laser-guided) to strike the thermal power plants in Hanoi, significantly disrupting the city’s electricity.
In the 1991 Gulf War, U.S.-led coalition forces destroyed or disabled nearly 90% of Iraq’s national power grid within days. The United States used specialized “Graphite Bombs” (non-lethal wire-dropping canisters) to short-circuit electrical substations.
More recently, during the 2011 Libya intervention, NATO forces targeted fuel and logistics infrastructure (including refueling equipment) used by Muammar Gaddafi’s military. In the war against ISIS, Operation Tidal Wave II targeted the oil infrastructure controlled by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
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