US President Donald Trump has repeated his threat to attack Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not open the Strait of Hormuz, hours after US forces rescued a crew member who was shot down by an F-15 fighter jet.
"Tuesday, April 7th, will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day, all rolled into one, in Iran. Nothing like this has ever happened before! Open that damn strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll live in hell, you'll see," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump's ultimatum period has changed several times in his recent posts on social media, or in his interviews.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on April 5, Trump said that Iran must open the strait within two days or else “they will be left without their power plants and other power plants that they have all over the country.” Trump initially signaled that the deadline was April 6.
He later tweeted: “Tuesday, 8:00 PM Eastern Time!” without providing further details. Despite the threats, Trump said in an interview on Fox News that Tehran is “negotiating right now” and believes there is a good chance of reaching a deal in the next 24 hours.
"I think there is a good chance for April 6. It is being negotiated now. If an agreement is not reached soon, I am considering destroying everything and taking the oil," he added.
The Speaker of Iran's Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has called on the United States to end the "dangerous game" by stopping the war with Tehran.
Qalibaf, considered by some in the White House as a potential partner, accused Washington in a social media post on April 5 of taking "reckless steps" in the conflict and that "the entire region will burn."
Among other things, Trump has said that the US has provided weapons to Iranian protesters "through the Kurds."
"I believe the Kurds held them," the US president added.
This was a reference to the protests that erupted in Iran in late December over deteriorating economic conditions, before escalating into nationwide anti-regime protests. Tens of thousands of Iranians have been killed or arrested in the protests, which have been crushed with an iron fist by the state.
Trump's warnings come as Iran has almost completely closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of global oil and gas supplies pass. As a result, energy prices have risen worldwide. The United States and Israel's war on Iran began on February 28. Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and Gulf states, and in some cases has targeted American forces and assets. /REL/
