{"id":383901,"date":"2026-04-06T00:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T00:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/383901\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T00:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T00:08:10","slug":"trump-issues-fiery-new-threat-against-iran-if-it-doesnt-open-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/383901\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump issues fiery new threat against Iran if it doesn\u2019t open Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"

US President Donald Trump made new, expletive-laden threats to escalate strikes on Iran and its infrastructure if it doesn\u2019t open the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline, after American forces rescued an aviator whose Iran-downed plane had fallen behind enemy lines.<\/p>\n

A defiant Iran showed no sign of backing down, striking economic and infrastructure targets in neighbouring Gulf Arab countries and challenging the US\u2019s account of the rescue.<\/p>\n

In a social media post, Mr Trump promised strikes on Iran\u2019s power plants and bridges. He vowed the \u201ccrazy bastards\u201d would be \u201cliving in Hell\u201d if the strait, a crucial waterway for global trade, isn\u2019t opened to marine traffic by Tuesday.<\/p>\n

He ended with \u201cPraise be to Allah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Trump has issued such deadlines before but extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war, which has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices in just over five weeks.<\/p>\n

Iranian culture minister Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri told visiting Associated Press journalists: \u201cIt seems Trump has become a phenomenon that neither Iranians nor Americans are able to fully analyse.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the president \u201cconstantly shifts between contradictory positions\u201d.<\/p>\n

Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets like oil fields and desalination plants critical for drinking water, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s joint military command warned of stepped-up attacks on regional oil and civilian infrastructure if the US and Israel attack such targets there, according to state television.<\/p>\n

The laws of armed conflict allow attacks on civilian infrastructure only if the military advantage outweighs the civilian harm, legal scholars say. It is considered a high bar to clear, and causing excessive suffering to civilians can constitute a war crime.<\/p>\n

The rescue of the US airman followed an intense search after Friday\u2019s crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, while Iran had promised a reward for anyone who turned in an \u201cenemy pilot\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"IranWreckage is shown of what Iran\u2019s state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation (Sepahnews via AP)\n<\/p>\n

Mr Trump said that the service member was \u201cseriously wounded and really brave\u201d and rescued from \u201cdeep inside the mountains\u201d of Iran.<\/p>\n

The president said a second crew member was rescued in \u201cbroad daylight\u201d within hours of the crash. The fighter jet was the first known American aircraft to crash in Iranian territory since the US and Israel launched the war with strikes on Iran on February 28.<\/p>\n

Iran also shot down another US military plane, demonstrating both the perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of Iran\u2019s degraded military to hit back.<\/p>\n

The other plane was a US A-10 attack aircraft. Neither the status of the crew nor where it crashed is known.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Iran\u2019s state television aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of a US aircraft shot down by Iranian forces, along with a photo of thick, black smoke rising.<\/p>\n

The broadcaster said that Iran had shot down a transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation.<\/p>\n

However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told The Associated Press that the US military blew up two transport planes because of a technical malfunction and brought in additional aircraft to complete the rescue.<\/p>\n

President Donald J. Trump to hold a major news conference alongside our Military in the Oval Office, Monday at 1:00 P.M.<\/p>\n

God Bless our great MILITARY WARRIORS! \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 pic.twitter.com\/RHjVKLyYEH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s military joint command on Sunday said that four US aircraft were destroyed during the operation and warned of stepping up retaliatory attacks on regional oil and civilian infrastructure if the US and Israel attack such targets in the Islamic Republic, according to state television.<\/p>\n

A spokesman said in comments published by the IRNA news agency: \u201cWe once again repeat: if you commit aggression again and strike civilian facilities, our responses will be more forceful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Trump\u2019s deadline of 9pm on Monday (1am GMT Tuesday), centres on growing alarm over Iran\u2019s grip on the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

The waterway is a critical choke point for commercial trade, especially oil and gas moving from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia, and is key to the delivery of humanitarian supplies.<\/p>\n

Disruptions have shaken markets and pushed oil and gas-importing countries to seek alternatives.<\/p>\n

General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, with Iran\u2019s joint military command, responded to Mr Trump\u2019s warnings by threatening all infrastructure used by the US military in the region.<\/p>\n

\"POLITICS(PA Graphics)\n<\/p>\n

Diplomatic efforts continued, seeking to calm the situation.<\/p>\n

Oman\u2019s Foreign Ministry said that deputy foreign ministers and experts from Iran and Oman met to discuss \u201ca number of visions and proposals\u201d to ensure \u201csmooth transit\u201d through the strait.<\/p>\n

Oman has often served as a mediator between the US and Iran in the past.<\/p>\n

Egypt said that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had spoken by phone with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, as well as with Turkish and Pakistani counterparts who are helping to mediate.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s Foreign Ministry said it had conveyed to Mr Araghchi that Islamabad supports \u201call efforts aimed at de-escalation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Last week, Islamabad said that it would soon host talks between the US and Iran.<\/p>\n

A proposed compromise includes a cessation of hostilities to allow a diplomatic settlement, according to a regional official involved in the efforts and a Gulf diplomat briefed on the matter.<\/p>\n

An escalation, however, could see Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen resuming attacks on vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key waterway for global traffic to and from the Suez Canal.<\/p>\n

In Kuwait, Iranian drone attacks caused significant damage to power plants and a petrochemical plant. They also put a water desalination station out of service, according to the Ministry of Electricity.<\/p>\n

It said that no injuries were reported.<\/p>\n

\"LebanonSmoke rises from a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon (Mohammed Zaatari\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

In Bahrain, a drone attack caused a fire at one of the national oil company\u2019s storage facilities and a state-run petrochemical plant, the kingdom\u2019s official news agency said.<\/p>\n

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities responded to fires at a petrochemical plant in Ruwais that they said were caused by intercepted debris, halting operations.<\/p>\n

The strikes came a day after Israel struck a major petrochemical plant in Iran that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said generated revenue used to fund the war.<\/p>\n

The petrochemical industry is a key sector in many Gulf states, converting oil and gas into products like plastics and fertiliser and bringing billions of dollars in export revenue.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.<\/p>\n

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 US service members have been killed.<\/p>\n

In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.<\/p>\n