IRAN WAR UPDATES: Trump drops F-bomb in new threat to Iran, missing U.S. airman rescued
· Toronto Sun
U.S. President Donald Trump issued another fiery, expletive-laden threat to Tehran on Sunday, vowing to strike its power plants and bridges if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline.
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The president’s comments come as he announced the rescued a crew member whose F-15 fighter jet was downed in Iran in another social media post Sunday.
Speaking to Fox News , Trump said “hundreds of U.S. Special Forces” were sent in an operation deep into Iranian territory for the rescue mission.
Meanwhile, Iran continued its offensive against Israel and Gulf states with ties to the U.S., firing missiles and drones on its neighbours as the war entered its sixth week.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict, almost three-quarters of them in Iran, according to government organizations and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. More than 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting a parallel war against Iran-allied Hezbollah.
Here is the latest news on Sunday:
Trump threatens to hit Iran’s infrastructure
In a post on Truth Social , the U.S. president wrote: “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—in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
In another social media post , Trump also appeared to extend his 10-day deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 24 hours, writing, “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!”
Shipping traffic along the key energy trade corridor has been at a standstill since the start of the war, leading to skyrocketing oil and gas prices worldwide.
In a phone interview with Fox News’ Trey Yingst, the U.S. president told the outlet that if Iran doesn’t make a “good faith deal,” he was “considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil,” adding that there’s a “good chance” for a deal by Monday.
Iranian officials have previously denied the Trump administration’s claims that any negotiations were taking place.
Iranian official responds to Trump threat
Iran’s culture minister has dismissed the U.S. president’s latest threats, calling him an “unstable, delusional figure.”
“Iranian society generally does not pay attention to his statements, as it believes he lacks personal, behavioural, and verbal balance, and constantly shifts between contradictory positions,” Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday.
“It seems Trump has become a phenomenon that neither Iranians nor Americans are able to fully analyze,” said Salihi-Amiri.
He reiterated Tehran’s claim that the Strait of Hormuz is open to the world but closed to Iran’s “enemies.”
Rescued U.S. crew member ‘seriously wounded’: Trump
A missing U.S. airman who was on an F-15 jet shot down by Iran was “seriously wounded” and rescued “from deep inside the mountains of Iran,” the U.S. president said in a post on Truth Social .
“The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close,” Trump said, describing the rescued crew member as a “highly respected colonel.”
The rescue mission involved hundreds of special operations troops, with U.S. aircraft dropping bombs and firing on Iranian convoys to keep them away from the aviator’s hiding area, the New York Times reported.
The airman was armed with a pistol, and had a communication device and a tracking beacon, CNN reported.
Tehran had offered a $60,000 reward for the capture of the missing crew member, with state TV repeatedly airing clips of footage showing the remnants of the downed U.S. jet, Al Jazeera reported.
On Sunday, Iran said it shot down a transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation.
State TV aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of a U.S. aircraft shot down by Iranian forces, along with a photo of thick, black smoke rising.
However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told The Associated Press that the U.S. military blew up two transport planes because of a technical malfunction and brought in additional aircraft to complete the rescue. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.
Trump said a news conference with the military has been planned for on Monday at the Oval Office.
Gulf states say oil and infrastructure targeted
Kuwait’s oil sector faced a fresh barrage of attacks on Sunday with drone strikes causing fires at its refining arm and petrochemical facilities. Those came hours after Kuwait Petroleum Corp.’s headquarters, which also houses the country’s oil ministry, was set ablaze in a similar attack.
A separate strike on power and water desalination plants caused significant damage, putting two generation units out of service.
Bahrain said a drone attack started a fire at storage facilities belonging to the state energy company Bapco Energies, though it was later extinguished without causing any casualties.
In the United Arab Emirates, Borouge PLC suspended operations at a petrochemicals plant in Abu Dhabi after multiple fires broke out from falling debris following interceptions of Iranian attacks, the government media office said.
Saudi Arabia also reported cruise missile attacks, saying that they were shot down.
An Iranian missile barrage targeted an industrial site in southern Israel, where shrapnel caused minor damage at a factory with no injuries reported, the country’s fire department said.
OPEC+ boosting oil production
Eight countries from OPEC+ oil cartel agreed on Sunday to again increase oil production, raising it by 206,000 barrels per day next month.
The eight countries who signed the agreement are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
The OPEC+ countries warned that damage from attacks on oil infrastructure will take “a long time” to repair and return supply to previous levels.
It’s also unclear how the oil will make it to the markets with the Strait of Hormuz still largely closed to oil tanker traffic.
Pope urges peace in Easter message
Pope Leo XIV marked his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a message urging world leaders to choose peace.
“Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us! Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!” the pope said.
The Easter message, known the Urbi et Orbi blessing, has traditionally included a litany of the world’s woes.
Pope Leo departed from tradition by not mentioning the wars by name.
— with files from Bloomberg and The Associated Press