【Which is the largest nuclear power plant that Trump threatened to strike heavily?】On the 21st, Trump issued a final ultimatum, demanding Iran to fully and non-threateningly reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, otherwise it would destroy power plants across Iran, starting with the largest one.
The question now is, which power plant will be the first to become a casualty?
The New York Times speculated that it seems to be Iran's only operational nuclear power plant, the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. Nuclear power plants have always been considered as facilities that cannot be attacked, even during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant did not suffer a destructive attack.
However, the largest one that Trump threatened should not be Bushehr. It is likely the Damavand Combined Cycle Power Plant, also known as the Pakdasht Martyrs' Power Plant.
This power plant is located 35 kilometers from the Tehran-Gamaseer highway, the closest to the capital, about 70 kilometers southeast of Tehran City Center, and is also the one with the largest impact area.
The power plant has a rated capacity of 2,868 megawatts, and is recognized by the Iranian government as the largest power plant, and one of the largest in the Middle East.
The power generation of the Damavand Power Plant accounts for about 4% of Iran's total power generation, and is responsible for supplying power to Tehran Province and the central industrial areas of Iran.
If the US military bombed this power plant, a sudden power outage would directly and severely impact the grid, causing widespread power outages in the capital immediately.
In a grid-connected power system, power generation and consumption must always remain balanced. Therefore, the sudden shutdown of the largest power source will cause a sharp drop in grid frequency.
If the protection system cannot compensate for this frequency drop by quickly cutting off electricity supply to large areas, the entire grid's frequency will collapse, and other power plants will automatically shut down to prevent losses.
This means that a large-scale blackout could occur throughout Iran.
This level of blackout is not just about losing indoor lighting. It will immediately affect municipal water supply, telecommunications and basic communication networks, hospitals, and major industries such as steel and petrochemicals, triggering a series of chain reactions.
Essentially, Trump is threatening to impose collective punishment on Iranians.
Unless Iranians integrate military power sources into the national grid, the Revolutionary Guards still have ways to retaliate.
Because Iran cannot directly attack the US mainland, the war has become a "you hit me, I hit him" transmission mode, and the tolerance threshold lies in whether "him" can withstand it.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1860346056876298/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.