{"id":566731,"date":"2026-04-05T22:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T22:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/566731\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T22:00:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T22:00:26","slug":"trump-issues-fiery-new-threat-against-iran-as-details-of-us-aviators-rescue-emerge-wpxi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/566731\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump issues fiery new threat against Iran as details of US aviator\u2019s rescue emerge \u2013 WPXI"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) \u2014 \u00a0U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0on Sunday made new, expletive-laden threats to escalate strikes on\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0and its infrastructure if it doesn\u2019t open the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz<\/a>\u00a0by his deadline, after American forces rescued an aviator whose Iran-downed plane fell behind enemy lines.<\/p>\n

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

In a social media post, Trump promised strikes on Iran\u2019s power plants and bridges and said the country would be \u201cliving in Hell\u201d if the strait, a\u00a0crucial waterway for global trade<\/a>, isn\u2019t opened to marine traffic by Tuesday. He ended with \u201cPraise be to Allah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump has issued such deadlines before but extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war, which has killed thousands, shaken\u00a0global markets<\/a>, cut off key shipping routes and\u00a0spiked fuel prices<\/a>\u00a0in just over five weeks.<\/p>\n

Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets like oil fields and desalination plants critical for drinking water, bringing warnings of\u00a0possible war crimes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIranian civilians will be the first to suffer from the destruction of power plants and bridges,\u201d Amnesty International head Agnes Callamard said on social media, calling Trump\u2019s threat \u201crevolting.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. describes a dramatic rescue<\/p>\n

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

Trump said that the service member was \u201cseriously wounded and really brave\u201d and rescued from \u201cdeep inside the mountains.\u201d He said a second crew member was rescued in \u201cbroad daylight\u201d within hours of the crash.<\/p>\n

A senior U.S. administration official said that prior to locating the pilot, the CIA spread word inside Iran that U.S. forces had found him and were moving him on the ground for exfiltration, confusing Iranian officials. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.<\/p>\n

The fighter jet was the first known American aircraft to crash in Iranian territory since the U.S. and Israel launched the war with strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n

Iran also shot down another U.S. military plane, demonstrating both the perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of\u00a0Iran\u2019s degraded military to hit back.<\/a>\u00a0Neither the status of the U.S. A-10 attack aircraft\u2019s 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 U.S. aircraft shot down by Iranian forces, along with a photo of thick, black smoke rising. 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 U.S. military blew up two transport planes because of a technical malfunction and brought in additional aircraft to complete the rescue. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWe once again repeat: if you commit aggression again and strike civilian facilities, our responses will be more forceful,\u201d a spokesman said in comments published by the IRNA news agency.<\/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\u2019s considered a high bar to clear, and causing excessive suffering to civilians can constitute a war crime.<\/p>\n

Diplomatic efforts continue<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s deadline of 9 p.m. EDT Monday (0100 GMT Tuesday), centers on growing alarm over Iran\u2019s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, critical for shipments of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia. It\u2019s also key for delivering\u00a0humanitarian supplies<\/a>. Some ships have\u00a0paid Iran for passage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Diplomatic efforts continued.<\/p>\n

Oman\u2019s Foreign Ministry said that deputy foreign ministers and experts from Iran and Oman met to discuss proposals to ensure \u201csmooth transit\u201d through the strait. Oman has often served as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>\n

Egypt said that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had spoken by phone with U.S. 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 Araghchi that Islamabad supports \u201call efforts aimed at de-escalation.\u201d Islamabad has said that\u00a0it would soon host talks<\/a>\u00a0between the U.S. and Iran.<\/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 to and from the Suez Canal.<\/p>\n

Iran attacks Gulf infrastructure and economic targets<\/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

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 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said generated revenue used to fund the war.<\/p>\n

The petrochemical industry converts oil and gas into products like plastics and fertilizer.<\/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 U.S.\u00a0service members<\/a>\u00a0have been killed. In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people\u00a0have been killed<\/a>\u00a0and more than 1 million people\u00a0have been displaced<\/a>. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.<\/p>\n

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