In an offensive social media post, US President Donald Trump threatened to demolish Iran’s bridges and power facilities if it didn’t reach his Tuesday deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping.
He reiterated a previous threat to unleash “hell,” but he assured US media that there was a “good chance” of reaching an agreement with Tehran.
Iran dismissed his ultimatum as “helpless, nervous, and stupid,” making fun of it.
Following his announcement that the second crew member of a downed US fighter jet over Iran had been successfully retrieved in an operation deep inside enemy territory, Trump issued a fresh threat.
In a rugged area in southwest Iran, both the US and Iran had hurried to find the US serviceman. Shortly after the F-15 was shot down on Friday, the pilot was found.
The episode occurred after more than a month of fighting, during which Iran continued to attack Gulf countries that were aligned with the United States and Israel in retaliation for airstrikes.
Additionally, Iran has severely hindered transit in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route that typically carries roughly 25% of the world’s petrol and oil. This has caused oil prices to soar globally and raised concerns about increased inflation worldwide.
Trump announced a number of deadlines for Iran to reopen the strait in March as a result of the disruption. He reiterated this demand on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
Strong language can be found in the text that follows.
“Power Plant Day and Bridge Day will be combined into one on Tuesday in Iran,” he declared. Nothing like it will exist! Praise be to Allah, you insane bastards, open the fucking strait or you’ll end up in hell. JUST WATCH. Donald J. Trump, President
He then told Fox News that he was thinking about “blowing everything up and taking over the oil” if a deal to end the war was not struck swiftly, but there was a “good chance” that one would be reached on Monday.
Subsequently, the US president added “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” once more, seemingly extending the deadline that was initially scheduled to expire on Monday, April 6.
Trump has repeatedly delayed the Strait of Hormuz’s reopening deadlines.
Trump first threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants on March 21 if the Strait of Hormuz was not “FULLY OPEN” within 48 hours.
Two days later, he declared that while “good” and “productive” negotiations with Iran continued, he would postpone striking for an additional five days, until March 28. Iran denied that any communication had occurred between its representatives and the Trump administration.
Trump once more postponed the deadline by an additional ten days, till April 6, as that date drew near. The new 48-hour deadline has been extended till this date.
The Strait of Hormuz “will be reopened” once “a portion of transit tolls is used to compensate for all the damage caused” by the conflict, according to Iran’s president’s office spokesperson Mahdi Tabatabaei. Iran has stated that it intends to impose fees on ships passing through the strait.
Trump’s ultimatum, according to Iran’s senior military command’s Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, is a “helpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action” and “the gates of hell will open” for the US president.
Israel has struck civilian Iranian infrastructure sites, the most recent of which was a petrochemical complex on Saturday. According to defence officials, Israel is awaiting US consent before attacking further energy facilities next week.
The Qasem Soleimani international airport in southwest Iran was also targeted by US-Israeli strikes on Sunday.
Iran has persisted in attacking Israel and US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles.
On Sunday, a ballistic missile struck a residential building in the Israeli city of Haifa. There were four injuries.
Authorities in Abu Dhabi reported earlier in the day that they were fighting flames at a petrochemical plant in Borouge that were brought on by falling debris from an Iranian missile.
Kuwait claimed that Iranian drone attacks had seriously damaged petrochemical and oil installations. In Bahrain, gasoline and industrial facilities were also targeted.
Read also: Trump Warns More Attacks On Iran, Oil Prices Go Up And Stock Prices Go Down
