US President Donald Trump posted a profanity-laced message on social media, threatening to target Iran’s electrical infrastructure and bridges if Tehran does not meet his Tuesday deadline to allow all vessels to pass through a strategic waterway.
He repeated a previous warning about unleashing “hell” but also told American media there was a “good chance” of an agreement with Iranian officials.
Iran mocked the ultimatum, calling it “helpless, nervous and stupid”.
The new threat followed the leader’s announcement that the second crew member of a US military aircraft downed over Iran had been successfully rescued in an operation deep inside hostile territory.
Both nations had been searching for the American serviceman in a mountainous region of southwestern Iran. The pilot had been recovered shortly after the aircraft was shot down earlier in the week.
The incident came after more than a month of hostilities, as Iran continued to respond to US and Israeli airstrikes with attacks on Gulf countries allied with them.
Iran has also significantly restricted movement through the strategic waterway, a crucial route for about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas, causing global energy prices to surge and raising concerns about rising inflation worldwide.
The disruption led the US leader to announce a series of deadlines in March for Iran to reopen the strait. On Sunday, he used his social media platform to reaffirm this demand.
Warning: Contains strong language
Afterwards, he told a news outlet there was a “good chance” a deal would be reached on Monday, but he was considering “blowing everything up and taking over the oil” if an agreement to end the war was not reached quickly.
Later, the US leader posted again – “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” – an apparent extension of the deadline originally meant to expire on Monday, April 6.
The leader has postponed deadlines for the reopening of the waterway several times.
On March 21, he initially threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the strait was not “FULLY OPEN” within 48 hours.
Two days later, he said he would not launch strikes for another five days – until March 28 – while “good” and “productive” talks with Iran continued. Iran denied that any contact between its officials and the US administration had taken place.
As that date approached, the leader again delayed the deadline by a further 10 days, until April 6. This is the date from which the new 48-hour deadline has been extended.
A spokesman for Iran’s presidential office said the waterway “will be reopened” when “a portion of transit tolls is used to compensate for all the damage caused” by the war. Iran has indicated it planned to charge ships to pass through the strait.
A senior Iranian military commander said the US leader’s threat was a “helpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action”, adding that “the gates of hell will open” for him.
Meanwhile, Israel has attacked civilian infrastructure sites in Iran – a petrochemical facility on Saturday was the latest – and was waiting for US approval to strike more energy facilities next week, according to defence officials.
US-Israeli strikes also hit an international airport in southwestern Iran on Sunday.
Iran has continued to fire drones and missiles at Israel and US Gulf allies.
A residential building in an Israeli city was directly hit by a ballistic missile on Sunday, injuring four people.
Earlier in the day, authorities in an Emirati city said they were battling fires at a petrochemical facility caused by falling debris from an Iranian missile.
Kuwait said strikes by Iranian drones had severely damaged oil and petrochemical facilities. Industrial and fuel plants were also targeted in Bahrain.
