WASHINGTON/TEHRAN/TEL AVIV/ DUBAI – US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened Iran, telling the country’s leaders that “time is running out” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to make a deal or open up the Hormuz Strait. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them,” the president wrote on social media this morning. “Glory be to GOD!”
Trump also threatened to target Iranian power facilities if Tehran does not reopen the crucial shipping route by his deadline of April 6.
When Trump first made the threat late last month, he said the country had just 48 hours to open up the Strait of Hormuz. He then pushed that deadline back several days before delaying it again to April 6, as he said talks were “going very well.”
During a White House address Wednesday, Trump said that the Strait of Hormuz would open “naturally” after the conflict ends.
“They are going to want to be able to sell oil because that’s all they have to try and rebuild,” Trump said. “It will resume the flowing and the gas prices will rapidly come back down.”
Iran said it will grant permission for vessels carrying “essential goods” to pass through the choked Strait of Hormuz, according to state-run Tasnim news agency. But its unclear which items Iran defines as “essential,” or if it will maintain its blockade on vessels from what it deems as hostile nations.
Trump had said that Iran couldn’t “do a thing” about American aircraft operating over its territory, and that its air defences had been significantly weakened.
So the downing of the F-15 has been a blow – and the situation could become worse if the weapons systems officer is captured.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is said to have sealed off a huge area and begun a search for the missing US airman – turning this into a high-stakes race on the ground between the two adversaries.
President Trump has said the loss of the plane will not affect negotiations with Iran – but he has posted a reminder of his most recent deadline of 6 April for Tehran to agree to a deal, reopen the strait of Hormuz or face the obliteration of its power plants.
Israel is preparing to attack Iranian energy facilities but is awaiting a green light from the United States, a senior Israeli defense official says, adding that any such attacks would likely come within the next week.
The comments came after US President Donald Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum, sharpening focus on whether Washington would back further Israeli military action against Iran.
The IDF confirmed bombing petrochemical facilities in southern Iran earlier today, saying the sites were used by the regime to manufacture materials for ballistic missiles.
According to the military, the strikes led to a halt in all production of the chemical materials, and are also expected to cause billions of dollars in financial damage.
The Fars news agency reported earlier that several facilities at the Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Zone in the Khuzestan Province were hit by strikes, and that five people were wounded.
Iran fired several salvos of ballistic missiles at Israel on Saturday, causing extensive damage to homes and lightly wounding six people, officials said, as the Israeli Air Force carried out a wave of strikes against Iranian infrastructure targets in Tehran and beyond.
The strikes came as the US military pressed ahead Saturday in a frantic search for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American warplane, as Iran called on people to turn the pilot in, promising a reward.
As of late afternoon, missiles carrying cluster bomb warheads had caused impacts at more than a dozen sites in central Israel.
Iran’s top joint military command has credited new Iranian air defence systems with the downing of two US warplanes on Friday, according to Iran’s state-affiliated IRNA news agency.
Iran is claiming to have shot down two US warplanes – one F-15E flying over the southwest of the country and a second plane – an A-10 Warthog – involved in a mission to rescue the F-15’s crew.
Spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari says Friday was a “humiliation” for the US and Israel, crediting new “domestically-produced” air defence systems, reports IRNA.
He adds that Iran will “surely achieve full control of our country’s skies” as these new systems are rolled out “one after another”.
Kuwait has responded to eight missiles and 19 drones within its airspace in the past 24 hours, its defence ministry said. It says no human casualties or “material damage” has been reported following the attacks.
In its daily update, the UAE Ministry of Defence says it intercepted 23 ballistic missiles and 56 drones from Iran on 4 April.
This brings the total number of interceptions since the start of the conflict to 498 ballistic missiles, 23 cruise missiles and 2,141 drones, according to a post on social media.
Authorities say two members of the armed forces, a contractor and 10 other people have been killed in the UAE since the start of the war. Two hundred and seventeen people have been injured.
