President Pezeshkian Urges Nationwide Energy Conservation Following Extensive US and Israeli Strikes on Iranian Power Grid

President Pezeshkian urges Iranians to slash electricity use as US and Israeli strikes damage 2,000+ points on the national grid during the 2026 war.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 25, 2026, 8:32 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Times of Israel

The Presidential Appeal for Household Restraint

In a televised address characterized by its direct and somber tone, President Masoud Pezeshkian urged Iranians to adopt immediate energy-saving measures to prevent a total collapse of the national power supply. "Instead of turning on ten lights at home, turn on two," Pezeshkian stated, framing the conservation effort as a matter of national resilience. The President’s remarks, carried by the state broadcaster IRIB, emphasize a shift toward "consumption control" as the government struggles to manage a grid that has been severely compromised by recent military engagements. This domestic appeal serves as a public admission of the vulnerability of Iran's internal systems following the intensification of regional hostilities.

Quantifying the Infrastructure Devastation

The President’s call for conservation is rooted in the extensive physical damage inflicted upon the nation's energy sector during the 38-day conflict that began in late February 2026. According to Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, Iran’s deputy energy minister, more than 2,000 separate locations within the electricity infrastructure were targeted in US and Israeli strikes. These attacks utilized a combination of cruise missiles and high-precision aerial bombs, specifically aiming at transformers, substations, and regional power plants. While the Ministry of Energy claimed that initial outages were restored in some sectors within hours, the cumulative structural damage has created a persistent deficit that the current aging infrastructure cannot overcome.

The Economic Stranglehold of the Naval Blockade

Beyond direct kinetic strikes, Pezeshkian highlighted the crippling impact of the ongoing US-led naval blockade on Iranian ports. The blockade, which intensified in mid-April 2026, has severely restricted the flow of liquid fuel and spare parts necessary for the maintenance of power facilities. "They destroyed our infrastructure and then blocked our ports," the President remarked, connecting the physical destruction of the grid to a broader strategy of economic isolation. This "battle of the blockades" has left the Iranian regime with limited options for repairing its facilities, as many high-tech components required for modernizing the power plants are currently intercepted or barred from entry.