Trump warns Iran to reopen strait of Hormuz by Tuesday or face ‘hell’ | US-Israel war on Iran

Donald Trump issued a profane warning on Sunday that Tehran had until Tuesday night to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or the United States would destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges.

Iran’s parliament speaker responded by warning that the US president’s “reckless moves” would mean “our entire region will burn.”

The latest threat of escalation in the five-week war came after the second crew member of a downed F-15E fighter jet was rescued by US commandos, ending two days of searches after the fighter jet crashed in southwestern Iran.

Iran distributed images showing the wreckage of several planes but did not deny that US forces rescued the officer, who was hiding in a mountainous area as American special forces and Iranian troops raced to find him.

Trump extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz at least twice, causing oil prices to rise, and moved the deadline once again from Monday to Tuesday in his expletive-filled post.

The US president posted on the Truth Social website: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day in Iran, all rolled into one. There will be nothing like it! Open the damn Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to God. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Trump also suggested there was a “good chance” of reaching a deal with Iran, telling Fox News on Monday that negotiations were ongoing. “If they don’t make a deal quickly, I’m thinking of blowing up the whole thing and taking over the oil,” he said.

However, Trump has repeatedly stated that Iran wants to make a deal since February 28, when the US-Israeli war began.

Iran acknowledged that messages were passed between the two parties, including Pakistan. But Tehran insists it is not participating in the peace talks. Iranian officials also fear they will be targeted if they engage in any negotiations, according to diplomatic intermediaries.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf responded to Trump’s latest threats in a social media post. “Your careless actions are driving the United States into a living HELL for every family, and our entire region will burn because you insist on following Netanyahu’s orders,” he wrote.

“Make no mistake: You have nothing to gain from war crimes. The only real solution is to respect the rights of the Iranian people and put an end to this dangerous game.”

Trump’s profanity-laden post also sparked criticism on Capitol Hill.

Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said on

“He threatens possible war crimes and alienates his allies. That’s who he is, but that’s not who we are. Our country deserves so much better.”

The collapse on Thursday of the region’s highest bridge, hailed in Iran as an engineering marvel, marked a terrifying new phase of the war, with the US president threatening to send Iran back to the “stone age”.

During war, international law protects civilians and what are known as civilian objects, such as infrastructure, through rules contained in the Geneva conventions.

Oona A Hathaway, a professor of international law at Yale University, said the US president offered no explanation that would make the civilian objects he threatened to target legal military targets. He also said other nations had an obligation to ensure respect for the Geneva conventions and not to aid and abet unjust acts.

“If these threatened attacks were to be carried out, they would constitute war crimes,” Hathaway said. “It is illegal to impoverish civilians for bargaining advantage.”

Iran’s steel production facilities, petrochemical facilities, universities and medical facilities were all bombed during the joint US-Israeli operation. According to Iranian officials, approximately 81,000 civilian settlements were damaged, including 61,000 homes, 19,000 commercial areas, 275 medical centers and approximately 500 schools.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israel destroyed 70 percent of Iran’s steel production and that it was used in missile production. It also confirmed attacks on petrochemical facilities.

By threatening and attacking ships passing through the waterway, Iran has managed to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz and take control of oil trade, Tehran’s strongest pressure point in the conflict.

Iran continued to strike economic infrastructure in the Gulf over the weekend in response to the attacks, actions that legal experts say are also illegal. On Sunday, a petrochemical complex in Bahrain was attacked. Video footage shows thick black smoke rising from the area.

Kuwait Oil Company said some of its facilities were targeted by Iranian drone attacks, causing fires and “significant material losses”. Kuwait also reported that two electricity and water desalination plants suffered “significant material damage” after being attacked by Iranian drones.

In Lebanon, Israel attacked south of Beirut again, killing at least four people and wounding 39 others. Lebanon’s national news agency reported that at least seven people, including a four-year-old girl, were killed in an Israeli air strike on Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon.

Iranians on Thursday were treated to a visceral demonstration of the types of attacks that can now be carried out with the collapse of the 136-metre-high $400m (£300m) B1 suspension bridge between Tehran and Karaj.

The attack took place on the last day of a holiday to celebrate the Iranian New Year, and according to reports, many families were picnicking nearby when the missiles passed through the middle of the bridge, sending a giant fireball flying. Day trippers who set up tents to enjoy the holiday ran screaming. Local authorities said that 13 people died and 95 people were injured in the attack.

The bridge was not opened yet. It has until now been known only as B1, ahead of its opening in the summer.

Trump released a video about the destruction of the bridge, warning Iran to reach a deal with nothing left. On Sunday, Trump told Axios a few days ago that the United States and Iran were close to an agreement to hold direct negotiations.

He said: “But then they said they would meet us in five days. And I said, ‘Why five days?’ I said. I felt like they weren’t serious. “So I attacked the bridge.”

The engineer behind the construction of the bridge said in an interview with Iranian television: “We did everything with our own knowledge, workers and resources. I am ashamed of myself for not being able to make people use this.”

A civil engineer who has worked on other major infrastructure projects in Iran said that recent attacks on civilian infrastructure, built entirely with indigenous knowledge, “have already made it impossible for hostility towards the Iranian people to be hidden behind the mask of opposition to the government.” But it was the attack on the bridge that was most painful for him because he said it had no military, nuclear or government connections.

“The target of this attack was nothing but Iran’s pride,” he said. “It is not possible for a nation that has reached such a level of self-sufficiency and productivity to return to the stone age.”