Trump warns Iran of ‘hell’ if Strait stays shut, says deal possible

A stark new warning from President Donald Trump has raised the temperature in an already dangerous conflict, as he threatened to unleash “hell” on Tehran if it failed to strike a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline, while also hailing US special forces for extracting an airman from deep inside Iran in a risky rescue mission.

For more than five weeks, the United States and Israel have battered Iran with missiles and airstrikes in a campaign they say is aimed at eliminating an imminent threat posed by the country’s nuclear weapons programme, ballistic missile stockpile and backing for proxy militias across the region.

Tehran has in effect shut the Hormuz waterway, the narrow corridor that carries about a fifth of global oil and natural gas supplies, and has also struck US military bases and other sites around the Gulf.

Explosions rocked Tehran this morning, and an official told Iranian state media that a US-Israeli strike on a residential building south of the capital killed at least 13 people. Reuters could not independently verify the report.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” he said.

“There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F**kin’ Strait, you crazy b**tards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP”

Blast tape on buildings as Tehran has adjusted to life under war

In the latest example of the mixed signals that have confounded allies, adversaries and financial markets, Mr Trump told Fox News yesterday that Iran was negotiating and that an agreement could be reached by today.

Later yesterday, Axios reported that the US, Iran and regional mediators were discussing the terms of a possible 45-day ceasefire that could pave the way to a permanent end to the war, citing four US, Israeli and regional sources familiar with the talks.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

According to the report, the mediators were working on a two-stage framework.

The opening phase would establish a 45-day ceasefire; the second would set the terms for ending the war.

Iran condemns ‘reckless’ US, hits Gulf

Tehran is demanding that the fighting stop, and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer ‌Qalibaf denounced Mr Trump’s threats, saying the US president was being led astray by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living HELL for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn because you insist on following Netanyahu’s commands,” he wrote yesterday on X.

Signalling that it still retained the capacity to strike despite sustained US-Israeli bombardment, Iran widened its attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure, launching drone and missile strikes on petrochemical facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

The Revolutionary Guards also said yesterday that they had struck an Israeli‑linked vessel at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port.

In Kuwait, drones triggered fires and caused “severe material damage” at petrochemical plants run by affiliates of state oil company Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, the company said.

A fire burns after a drone strike hit a building of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation

The attacks highlighted Iran’s ability to keep up cross‑border operations and to disrupt infrastructure in several Gulf states at once, laying bare the fragility of key energy and maritime centres.

In Israel, media outlets showed search-and-rescue crews sifting through rubble in the northern city of Haifa yesterday after an Iranian missile struck a residential building.

Israeli paramedics said nine people were receiving treatment, and Israeli media later reported that rescuers had pulled two bodies from the debris.

Commando operation

Mr Trump announced the airman’s rescue in the early hours of yesterday, calling it “one of the most daring” missions of its kind in US history.

The airman, the weapons officer aboard an F-15 shot down on Friday, was injured but “will be just fine”, Mr Trump said in a post on X.

The pilot of the jet had been rescued earlier.

Under cover of darkness, US commandos moved far into Iran without detection, climbed a 2,100m ridge and brought the stranded American weapons specialist out before dawn.

US forces destroyed two airplanes and four helicopters to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands

Two MC-130 aircraft that had carried some of the roughly 100 special ‌operations personnel into rugged terrain south of Tehran suffered a mechanical failure and were unable to depart, a US official told Reuters.

Commanders then made a high-stakes call, ordering more aircraft into Iran to evacuate the force in successive waves.

The rescue team was extracted in stages, and US troops destroyed the disabled MC‑130s along with four additional helicopters inside Iran rather than risk abandoning sensitive equipment.

Iran said several US aircraft were destroyed during the operation.

Israeli airstrikes killed another 11 people in Lebanon on Sunday, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.