Trump warns Iran over Strait of Hormuz in new statement

A stark new warning from Washington has raised the stakes in the Middle East conflict, with US President Donald Trump saying the United States would destroy Iran’s energy plants and oil wells unless Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz.

The threat came after Iran dismissed US peace proposals as “unrealistic” and launched fresh waves of missiles at Israel.

The Israeli military said two drones launched from Yemen were intercepted today, while Lebanon’s Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel.

Israel, meanwhile, said it struck military infrastructure in Tehran and Hezbollah-linked infrastructure in Beirut, where black smoke was seen rising over the Lebanese capital.

Iran has shown no sign of backing down in the conflict, now a month old, that began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran on 28 February and has since rippled across the region, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and rattling the global economy.

Most of those reported killed were in Iran and Lebanon, and many were civilians.

Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel through which roughly one fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.

At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war against Iran had already met more than half of its objectives, though he declined to say when it might end.

“It’s definitely beyond the halfway point. But I don’t want to put a schedule on it,” Mr Netanyahu told the conservative US broadcaster Newsmax.

Donald Trump said that the US will obliterate Iranian energy facilities if a deal is not reached

He said he was referring to progress “in terms of missions, not necessarily in terms of time”.

Donald Trump had initially said the operation would run for four to six weeks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the conflict would continue for “weeks” rather than months, as broad opposition grows in the United States to a war that has driven oil prices sharply higher.

Mr Netanyahu said the campaign had achieved key goals, including the killing of “thousands” of members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

US sends reinforcements while pursuing talks

Thousands of troops from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have begun arriving in the Middle East, two US officials said, in a reinforcement that would widen Mr Trump’s military options to include sending forces into Iranian territory even as his administration continues to pursue talks with Tehran.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said the president wanted a deal with Iran before the 6 April deadline he set last week after extending an earlier deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Ms Leavitt said discussions with Iran were moving forward, while adding that Tehran’s public statements did not match what it was telling US officials privately.

Iran said it had received US peace proposals through intermediaries after talks involving the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described the proposals as “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”.

“Our position is clear. We are under military aggression. Therefore, all our efforts and strength are focused on defending ourselves,” he told a news conference.

Shortly after Mr Baghaei spoke, President Trump said in a social media post that the United States was negotiating with a “more reasonable regime” to end the war, while issuing a fresh ultimatum over the Strait of Hormuz.

“Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island,” he wrote.

Kharg island is a vital hub for Iran’s crude oil exports

Mr Trump also threatened to strike the desalination plants that provide Iran with clean water.

A Pakistani security official, whose government is seeking to mediate in the war, said direct US-Iran talks this week appeared unlikely.

Mr Baghaei also said Iran’s parliament was reviewing a possible withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The treaty recognises the right to develop, research, produce and use nuclear energy, provided nuclear weapons are not pursued.

Mr Trump has said preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is one reason for attacking the country. Tehran denies it is seeking a nuclear arsenal.

The White House said the president was weighing whether to ask Arab nations to cover the cost of the war.

“It’s an idea that I know that he has and something that I think you’ll hear more from him on,” Ms Leavitt said when asked by a reporter.

Iranian missiles have continued to reach Israel

The administration in Washington has requested an additional $200 billion (€174bn) to fund the war, a move facing strong resistance in the US Congress, where any new spending requires approval.

Iran has also fired at Arab Gulf states during the conflict, while fighting has flared again between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Three members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon after a bloody weekend in which Lebanese journalists and medics were killed in Israeli strikes.

Latest Middle East stories

Benchmark oil prices, meanwhile, extended their gains.

Attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Israel have also raised the prospect that they could target and block a second critical shipping lane, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The International Monetary Fund warned that the war ihas caused serious disruption to the economies of frontline countries, and is clouding the outlook for many others that had only recently begun to recover from earlier crises.

G7 finance leaders also said they stood ready to take “all necessary measures” to protect energy market stability and contain broader economic fallout from the recent volatility.