Trump issues new warning to Tehran, Iran calls US peace proposals ‘unrealistic’

By Alexander Cornwell, Trevor Hunnicutt and Asif Shahzad

TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, March 30 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump warned on Monday that the United States would destroy Iran’s power plants and oil wells if Tehran failed to open the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran called U.S. peace proposals “unrealistic” and launched waves of missiles at Israel.

The Israeli military said it also seized two drones from Yemen and Lebanese Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on Monday, two days after Iran-backed Houthis entered the war by firing missiles at Israel.

Israeli forces launched missile attacks on what they called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut, leaving black smoke over the Lebanese capital.

Turkey’s defense ministry said a ballistic missile launched from Iran entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by NATO air and missile defense systems based in the Eastern Mediterranean, the fourth such incident since the start of the war.

Tehran remains defiant in a month-long war that began with the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28 and has spread throughout the region, killing thousands of people, disrupting energy supplies and dealing a blow to the global economy.

The majority of those killed were in Iran and Lebanon, and many were civilians. Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the global supply of oil and liquefied natural gas.

USA IS SENDING FORCE AS THE MEETINGS CONTINUE

Thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have begun arriving in the Middle East, two US officials told Reuters on Monday; It’s part of a buildup that will expand Trump’s options to include the deployment of forces on Iranian soil even as he continues talks with Tehran.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said Trump wants to reach a deal with Tehran before the April 6 deadline he set last week after extending the deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. Leavitt stated that talks with Iran are progressing, adding that what Tehran is saying publicly is different from what it is saying privately to US officials.

Iran said early Monday that it had received peace overtures from the United States through intermediaries following talks Sunday between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the proposals were “unrealistic, unreasonable and excessive.”

“Our position is clear. We are under military aggression. Therefore, all our efforts and strength are focused on defending ourselves,” he told a press conference.

Shortly after Baghaei’s remarks, Trump said in a social media post that the United States was in talks with a “more reasonable regime” to end the war in Iran, but also issued a new warning regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

“Great progress has been made, but if for some reason an agreement cannot be reached soon, as it likely will be, and the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will end our pleasant ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely destroying all of Iran’s Power Generation Facilities, Oil Wells, and Kharg Island,” Trump wrote.

Trump also threatened to attack desalination plants in Iran that provide clean water.

A Pakistani security official, whose country is trying to mediate the war, said direct U.S.-Iran talks this week were unlikely.

Baghaei also said Iran’s parliament was reviewing a possible exit from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which recognizes the right to develop, research, produce and use nuclear energy as long as nuclear weapons are not resorted to.

Trump cited preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons as the reason for attacking Iran on February 28. Tehran denies it is seeking a nuclear arsenal.

FEARS OF DEBATE

The White House said ‌Trump is considering asking Arab countries to pay for the cost of the war. “It’s an idea that I know he has, and it’s something I think you’ll be hearing more of from him,” Leavitt said in response to a reporter’s question about the idea.

His administration has requested $200 billion in additional funds for the war, which faces stiff opposition in the U.S. Congress, which must approve new spending.

Iran opened fire on Gulf Arab countries during the conflict, and the war between Israel and Hezbollah flared up again in Lebanon. Three members of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon, following a bloody weekend in which Lebanese journalists and medics were killed in Israeli attacks.

While benchmark oil prices continued their rise on Monday, Brent crude futures are on track for a record monthly increase.

The Houthis’ attacks against Israel have increased the possibility that they may target and close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the second important shipping route.

The oil market has almost completely ignored the possibility of a negotiated end to the war and is “preparing for a sharp increase in military hostilities,” said Vandana Hari of oil market provider Vanda Insights.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that the war in the Middle East is causing serious disruption to the economies of front-line countries and darkening the outlook for many economies that are just beginning to recover from previous crises.

G7 financial leaders also said they were prepared to take “all necessary measures” to maintain energy market stability and limit wider economic impacts from recent fluctuations.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Michael Perry, Stephen Coates, Timothy Heritage, Keith Weir and Simon Lewis; Editing by Gareth Jones and Matthew Lewis)