United States President Donald Trump has threatened to attack civilian infrastructure inside Iran, including bridges and power plants, if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by his stated deadline of Monday.
Trump made the threat in an expletive-laden social media post on Sunday, in which he repeated previous threats to pummel vital infrastructure across Iran.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****** Strait, you crazy b*******, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
On March 26, Trump set a 10-day deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for the global energy market, where traffic has ground to a halt since the US and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28.
He told Fox News on Sunday that Iran was currently negotiating with the US and that he believed the two could reach a deal before the deadline.
Iranian officials have slammed Trump’s threats and promised to retaliate for any attacks on their infrastructure.
“Once again, the US president openly threatens to destroy infrastructure essential to civilian survival in Iran,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in response to Trump’s threats.
“The international community and all states have legal obligations to prevent such atrocious acts of war crimes. They must act now. Tomorrow is too late,” it added.
Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications at the Iranian president’s office, also stated that the strait would only be reopened following the payment of reparations for damages caused by the war.
He said those payments would come in the form of transit fees through a “new legal regime” around the strait, consistent with previous Iranian statements that it may seek to translate its control over the strait into a system whereby ships passing through pay a fee even after the war ends.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****** Strait, you crazy b*******, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
On March 26, Trump set a 10-day deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for the global energy market, where traffic has ground to a halt since the US and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28.
He told Fox News on Sunday that Iran was currently negotiating with the US and that he believed the two could reach a deal before the deadline.
Iranian officials have slammed Trump’s threats and promised to retaliate for any attacks on their infrastructure.
“Once again, the US president openly threatens to destroy infrastructure essential to civilian survival in Iran,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in response to Trump’s threats.
“The international community and all states have legal obligations to prevent such atrocious acts of war crimes. They must act now. Tomorrow is too late,” it added.
Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications at the Iranian president’s office, also stated that the strait would only be reopened following the payment of reparations for damages caused by the war.
He said those payments would come in the form of transit fees through a “new legal regime” around the strait, consistent with previous Iranian statements that it may seek to translate its control over the strait into a system whereby ships passing through pay a fee even after the war ends.
The US president has said that he will hold a news conference in the White House on Monday.
Trump also offered additional details about the operation to locate and extract the pilot of an F-15E fighter jet that was shot down over Iran on Friday.
“We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran,” he said in a separate social media post on Sunday.
“An AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all!”
