President Donald Trump warned Monday that the United States could strike Iran’s electricity and power-generating plants if nuclear talks fail, even as he said Washington may be close to a deal and claimed Tehran has made concessions.
The new comments add a sharper military edge to the paused U.S.-Iran track. Recent List25 coverage has followed the Tehran funeral procession, Japan-linked tankers leaving Hormuz, and the planned July 11 talks. This update is different: Trump is now publicly pairing a possible diplomatic opening with an explicit threat against Iran’s power infrastructure.
CBS News reported that Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, “We’re either going to make a deal, or we’re going to finish the job.” He added that it “won’t be tough to finish the job” and said the U.S. could knock out Iran’s electricity and power-generating plants “in the small part of an afternoon.”
The remarks came while U.S.-Iran talks remain paused during funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei is due to be buried in Mashhad on Thursday, and the next diplomatic round is expected after the mourning period.
Trump Says Iran Has Made Concessions
The Jerusalem Post reported that Trump said the U.S. had “freed up the blockade” because it was “close to maybe making a deal,” though he immediately added that he did not know whether a deal would be reached. The same report quoted Trump as saying, “We’ve gotten concessions, and they have to hold those concessions.”
Trump also said there would be “no nuclear weapon” and again referred to removing Iran’s enriched material. That remains one of the hardest unresolved issues in the talks. Iran has repeatedly resisted proposals that would force it to surrender or export its highly enriched uranium stockpile, while Washington has treated the stockpile as a central test of any final agreement.
India Today, citing agency reporting, also reported that Trump said Washington had secured concessions but acknowledged there was no final agreement yet. The outlet said he framed the choice as a negotiated settlement or renewed U.S. military action.
The Threat Complicates the Funeral Pause
The timing matters. Iran is in the middle of a week of state mourning for Khamenei, whose death has fueled anti-American and anti-Israeli rhetoric in Tehran. CBS reported earlier Monday that the funeral procession through the capital began under heavy security, with roads, airspace, and daily life disrupted for the event.
That pause was supposed to create space for talks to resume afterward. Trump’s remarks keep the diplomatic lane open, but they also raise the pressure on Tehran before negotiators return to the table. For Iran’s leadership, agreeing to nuclear concessions under a public threat to the country’s power grid could be politically costly. For Washington, backing away from the threat without a deal could invite criticism that the U.S. eased pressure too early.
The power-grid warning also shifts attention away from only the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping remains a major crisis point, especially after weeks of route warnings, mine concerns, and assisted vessel transits. But Trump’s latest comments put Iran’s domestic infrastructure back into the escalation picture.
What to Watch Next
The immediate question is whether Iran publicly confirms, denies, or narrows the concessions Trump described. If Tehran rejects the claim, the gap between public diplomacy and private talks widens. If Iranian officials stay quiet, Washington may try to use Trump’s comments to lock in those reported concessions before the next round.
The second question is whether the threat changes the tone of the July 11 track. A deal would still need to address enriched uranium, sanctions relief, frozen funds, and the practical reopening of Hormuz. Those issues were already difficult. The added warning about power plants makes the next round even more combustible.
For now, the crisis has a new pressure point: Trump is saying a deal may be close, but he is also telling Iran that failure could bring strikes on the infrastructure ordinary Iranians depend on. That makes the next diplomatic move harder for both sides to sell at home.