[News] US, Israel plan 'harshest strikes yet' on Iranian power plants, oil refineries:

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 US, Israel plan 'harshest strikes yet' on Iranian power plants, oil
refineries: Report

Netanyahu reportedly proposed imposing a 'land blockade' on Iran during his
meeting with Trump in Washington last week

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

AUG 1, 2026 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/us-israel-plan-harshest-strikes-yet-on-iranian-power-plants-oil-refineries-report
(Photo credit by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The US and Israel are planning the “harshest bombing campaign to date”
against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, CBS News reported
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-israel-iran-war-energy-related-targets-trump/>
on 31 July.

Several sources indicate that the strikes, aimed at power plants and oil
refineries, might occur this weekend but are expected to conclude before
the US stock market opens on Monday, due to worries about US and global
energy prices.

Tel Aviv is reportedly working closely with the Pentagon to plan the
attacks. However, US President Donald Trump has not yet made a final
decision to proceed.

A former US military official told CBS that the “value of hitting energy
infrastructure would be to impact the Iranian military's ability to provide
services and effectively govern.”

Trump and his advisors also discussed cutting off electricity across
Tehran. Such strikes would likely constitute war crimes by targeting
civilian infrastructure.

If implemented, the bombing campaign would mark Israel's return to the war
that started in June 2025.

Iran and Israel have not targeted one another since a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) was signed between Washington and Tehran earlier this
year.

Nevertheless, an Israeli official rejected reports that Tel Aviv would
rejoin the war. "Israel is unaware of a decision to restart full military
operations, nor has been requested of Israel to join any military actions
against Iran," the official stated.

Last week, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-minister-says-current-us-iran-war-best-us-will-not-join>
his country was content to remain out of the fighting and allow the US and
its Gulf allies to fight the war on Tel Aviv's behalf.

"Israel has no interest in joining the campaign - the current situation is
the best for us," Smotrich said on Tuesday.

The plan to strike Iran's energy infrastructure was discussed during
Trump's cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday.

"We'll be hitting them very hard. At some point, they're going to say, 'We
just can't take it anymore,'" Trump told journalists on Friday.

He also dismissed the possibility of reviving the MoU.

"I think we just want to win," he told the press when asked about resuming
negotiations, calling the actions of Iranian negotiators “dishonorable.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefed Trump on three options
for the war moving forward when they met at the White House earlier this
week.

One of the options included military strikes targeting land resupply
routes, a senior Israeli official said.

“What if you just block the land?” the official said
<https://www.ms.now/news/trump-netanyahu-blockade-iran-land-borders> of
Netanyahu's proposal. “Suppose Iran cannot bring anything in, cannot take
anything out."

The US has already bombed large numbers of bridges in Iran, cutting off
roads to the south of the country near the Strait of Hormuz.

In response to the report, a senior Iranian security official told
<https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/929540> *Tasnim News Agency* that
Tehran considers the US threats a “form of recklessness” and is prepared to
respond.

"We have prepared an extensive response plan that includes targeting the
vital infrastructure of the Zionist regime as well as US energy
infrastructure in the region, and we are fully prepared to carry it out,"
the official stated.

“Iran's armed forces have demonstrated—both during the 40-day war and in
its continuation over recent weeks—that they possess both the capability
and the determination to carry out such actions.”
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