{"id":4744,"date":"2026-07-18T07:06:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4744"},"modified":"2026-07-18T07:06:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:06:46","slug":"iran-tells-citizens-to-turn-off-ac-to-preserve-power-grid-blames-us-strikes-for-strain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4744","title":{"rendered":"Iran tells citizens to turn off AC to preserve power grid, blames US strikes for strain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sweltering Iranians were warned by their rulers Friday to shut off their air conditioners during peak hours as\u00a0the regime claimed the\u00a0country\u2019s\u00a0power grid came under strain from US attacks.<\/p>\n

Read more US pummels Iran\u2019s military infrastructure in latest strikes<\/a><\/p>\n

Tehran\u2019s Ministry of Energy said in a statement that shutoffs were necessary \u201cto help ensure a stable electricity supply in the southern provinces, which are currently facing extreme heat and attacks on electricity supply facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement did not specify whether power plants, transmission lines or other equipment had been attacked.<\/p>\n

CENTCOM declined to say whether the US military hit Iranian power plants or other energy targets, but a White House official denied to the BBC that any civilian infrastructure was struck.<\/p>\n

\u201c[US forces] carried out strikes exclusively on military targets, including military logistics infrastructure,\u201d the person said.<\/p>\n

Temperatures in the\u00a0Iranian\u00a0capital hit triple digits on\u00a0Friday with highs of 102 expected on both Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

In the port of Bandar Abbas,\u00a0focus of the latest American bombing campaign, temperatures were predicted to hover in the high-90s and top out at 105 on Sunday.<\/p>\n

President Trump on Wednesday pledged to begin bombing Iranian energy infrastructure next week if Tehran continues resisting US demands.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext week it gets really bad for them,\u201d Trump told Fox News. \u201cWe\u2019re going to knock out all their power plants. We\u2019re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foundation for Defense of Democracies\u2019 Iran program director Behnam Ben Taleblu told The Post that Tehran \u2014 not the US \u2014 is responsible for the crisis, and it\u2019s not the first time they\u2019ve ordered their citizens to go without A\/C.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are saying that now and have said before. They try to get people to conserve when the government doesn\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cBut in official talking point, blame is being shifted on to the US.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will have a combination environmental and economic crisis anyway, since those were unresolved things from pre-January protests,\u201d he added, referring to the widespread protests in Iran this year against the regime.<\/p>\n

Other infrastructure\u00a0has\u00a0also\u00a0been struck. Overnight US\u00a0strikes into Friday hit road and rail bridges with the goal of cutting off Bandar Abbas from the rest of Iran.<\/p>\n

The attacks also collapsed a tower at Iran\u2019s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, a key trade route for landlocked, neighboring Afghanistan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.<\/p>\n

Read more Winner of historic $1.82B Powerball jackpot revealed as Arkansas mayor\u2019s little brother<\/a><\/p>\n

Chabahar, which Iran had been running with support from India, has been a repeated target of American airstrikes.<\/p>\n

Friday marked the sixth consecutive day of US airstrikes, which Iran\u2019s Health Ministry claims has killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400.<\/p>\n

Tehran retaliated by attacking US partners in the region with missiles and other projectiles. In Kuwait, authorities said Iran attacked a power and water desalination plant, causing widespread damage to the station.<\/p>\n

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