Trump uses abusive language in new post threatening Iranian infrastructure
In a follow-up post on Truth Social, Trump has used abusive language to call on Iran to let ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and threatened to further attack Iranian energy and transport infrastructure. He said:
Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP
Key events
Donald Trump said his deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on critical infrastructure is Tuesday evening, according to an interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal published on Sunday.
“If they don’t do something by Tuesday evening, they won’t have any power plants and they won’t have any bridges standing,” Trump told the Journal. In a social media post earlier on Sunday, Trump had said Iran would face infrastructure attacks and the country will be “living in Hell” if it did not open the strait by Tuesday.
Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Parliament of Iran, responded to Trump’s threats in a social media post.
“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.
“Make no mistake: You won’t gain anything through war crimes. The only real solution is respecting the rights of the Iranian people and ending this dangerous game.”
Former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati also warned that “if the White House repeats its foolish mistakes, it will quickly realize that the flow of energy and global trade can be disrupted with a single signal.”
Velayati further criticized Washington’s strategies, stating that while “the United States has learned history from Iran, it has yet to learn the geography of power.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is concerned that a prolonged US-Israeli war on Iran could erode America’s support for Ukraine as Washington’s global priorities shift.
Zelenskyy told the Associated Press that Ukraine urgently needs more Patriot air defense systems from the US as Kyiv tries to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks. He says he fears there will be reduced deliveries as resources are diverted to the Middle East.
“We have to recognize that we are not the priority for today,” Zelenskyy said. “That’s why I am afraid a long (Iran) war will give us less support.”
He also said that Russia benefits economically from the war and is sharing intelligence with Iran. Zelenskyy has offered Ukraine’s expertise in countering Iranian drones and defense cooperation with Gulf Arab states.
Top Senate Democrate condemns Trump for ‘threatening possible war crimes’
Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic Leader responded to Trump’s rant by writing: “Happy Easter, America. As you head off to church and celebrate with friends and family, the President of the United States is ranting like an unhinged madman on social media.
“He’s threatening possible war crimes and alienating allies. This is who he is, but this is not who we are. Our country deserves so much better,” Schumer wrote.
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, meanwhile, posted his gratitude for the rescue of the second US crew member. “Thankful that the second Air Force officer whose fighter jet was shot down in Iran has been heroically rescued by US Special Operations. What a blessing on Easter Sunday morning. May God continue to watch over our troops.”
Democrats are responding to Trump’s expletive-laden rant on Truth Social this morning.
Senator Bernie Sanders called it “dangerous and mentally unbalanced,” writing on his X account: “One month after starting the war in Iran, this is the statement of the President of the United States on Easter Sunday. These are the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual. Congress has got to act NOW. End this war.”
Senator Chris Murphy called it completely unhinged, posting on social media: “If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment. This is completely, utterly unhinged. He’s already killed thousands. He’s going to kill thousands more.”
Representative Becca Balint said during an appearance on MS Now: “If President Biden or President Obama had said anything remotely like this, it would be nonstop coverage on every single channel and everyone on the other side of the aisle would be howling about it and demanding that they step down.”
A US official has told investigative journalist Michael Weiss some interesting details about the high-stakes rescue mission of the weapon systems officer from the F-15E aircraft shot down over Iran:
In a post on X this morning, Oman’s foreign ministry said Oman and Iran held talks at the deputy foreign minister level to discuss options for ensuring the smooth transit of vessels through the strait of Hormuz, which in normal times carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
“During the meeting, experts from both sides presented a number of visions and proposals that will be studied,” the ministry said in a post.
Iran has allowed a trickle of ships through from nations it deems “non-hostile”, such as Thailand, China, Pakistan and India.
An Iranian parliamentary committee last week approved a proposal to collect a toll on vessels travelling through the strait of Hormuz but said ships from the US, Israel and countries that imposed sanctions on Iran would not be permitted.
Iran and Oman are reportedly drafting a protocol to “monitor transit” through the strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump claims the US is unaffected by its closure because it doesn’t rely heavily on oil imports via the vital waterway. However, this ignores the fact that oil is an internationally traded commodity and that US consumers are being directly hit by a surge in energy prices resulting from the effective closure of the strait (you can read about the rising cost of gas here).
Trump says deal with Iran possible by Monday – report
In an interview with Fox News, the US president, Donald Trump, said he believes he can reach a deal with Iran by Monday. We will bring you quotes from the interview on this when we have them.
Trump has threatened Iran that he would begin bombing its infrastructure Tuesday morning if the vital strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has effectively closed as leverage in the war, is not reopened.
Its closure is having a crippling effect on the global economy and has sent the price of energy soaring, including in the US. This fact is likely to hurt the Republicans in the midterms in November.
Trump has previously boasted of diplomatic progress in talks with Tehran, although Iran has denied any direct negotiation has taken place, only mediation efforts undertaken by intermediaries.
In the interview with Fox News, Trump also said the US sent guns to the Iranian demonstrators during the nationwide protests against the rising cost of living and the government in January.
The protests posed a major threat to the Iranian regime and an estimated 7,000 people were killed by security forces in a brutal crackdown, according to HRANA.
“We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them,” Trump told Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst. “And I think the Kurds took the guns.”
Former Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene condemns latest social media threat
Former Trump ally Majorie Taylor Greene has said everyone in the Trump administration who claims to be a Christian needs to “beg forgiveness from God” and intervene in the president’s “madness”.
In a lengthy post on X, which came after the US president again threatened Iran’s infrastructure if the strait of Hormuz remains closed, the former congresswoman wrote:
I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit. I’m not defending Iran but let’s be honest about all of this.
The Strait is closed because the US and Israel started the unprovoked war against Iran based on the same nuclear lies they’ve been telling for decades, that any moment Iran would develop a nuclear weapon.
You know who has nuclear weapons? Israel. They are more than capable of defending themselves without the US having to fight their wars, kill innocent people and children, and pay for it. Trump threatening to bomb power plants and bridges hurts the Iranian people, the very people Trump claimed he was freeing.
After years of loyalty, Greene broke from Trump last year as she questioned his strikes on Iran last June. She has said Trump, who campaigned on an “America first” slogan, has concentrated too much on foreign policy at the expense of domestic issues, such as those around affordability.
US-Israeli airstrikes hit an airport in southwestern Iran earlier today, state media has reported.
“The Shahid (Qasem) Soleimani international airport was hit in an airstrike carried out by” US and Israeli forces, the official IRNA news agency said, citing the deputy governor of Khuzestan province, Valiollah Hayati. We have not been able to independently verify these claims yet.
Lebanon’s national news agency has said an Israeli airstrike on the Jnah area of southern Beirut has killed four people and injured 39 others.
In an earlier post, we cited a report of a child being among seven people killed in an Israeli airstrike on Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon.
Summary of the day so far…
It has just gone past 16:45pm in Tehran, and 16:15pm in Tel Aviv and Beirut. Here is a quick recap of events:
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The US president, Donald Trump, used abusive language to call on Iran to let ships through the strait of Hormuz as he threatened to further attack Iranian energy and transport infrastructure.
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The second crew member of a downed F-15E fighter jet was rescued by the US overnight, ending a two-day search after the warplane crashed in south-west Iran.
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Trump said the crew member was “seriously wounded” but “safe and sound” after a mission that was reportedly made possible with the help of CIA subterfuge.
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At least five people were reported to have been killed in US-Israeli attacks in south-west Iran during the rescue operations.
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The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said a number of facilities were targeted by Iranian drone attacks earlier today, resulting in fires and “significant material losses”.
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Israel has launched deadly airstrikes on Lebanon and Gaza as its assault on both countries continues. An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon’s Kfar Hatta killed at least seven people, including a four-year-old girl, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.
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Hezbollah said it launched missiles towards northern Israel, which the IDF says it has intercepted, according to reports.
Trump uses abusive language in new post threatening Iranian infrastructure
In a follow-up post on Truth Social, Trump has used abusive language to call on Iran to let ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and threatened to further attack Iranian energy and transport infrastructure. He said:
Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP
Donald Trump has posted a new message on his Truth Social platform about the rescue of the second US airman, in which he says Iran was “getting close” to finding the F-15 crew member. He also announced a news conference with the military at the Oval office on Monday.
We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran. The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close. He is a highly respected Colonel.
This type of raid is seldom attempted because of the danger to ‘man and equipment.’ It just doesn’t happen! The second raid came after the first one, where we rescued the pilot in broad daylight, also unusual, spending seven hours over Iran.
“An AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all! I will be having a News Conference, with the Military, at the Oval Office, on Monday, at 1:00 P.M. God Bless our great MILITARY WARRIORS! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Iranian drone attacks cause ‘significant material losses’ at Kuwait energy facilities
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said a number of its facilities were targeted by Iranian drone attacks on Sunday, resulting in fires and “significant material losses”.
It said facilities at the Kuwait National Petroleum Company and the Petrochemical Industries Company were targeted. There were no reports of any injuries and specialised teams are working to contain the fires, according to a statement posted on X.
Kuwaiti state media has also reported that two power and water desalination plants sustained “significant material damage” after being attacked by Iranian drones.
Child among seven people killed by Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon – report
Lebanon’s national news agency is reporting that an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon’s Kfar Hatta killed at least seven people, including a four-year-old girl.
Dan Sabbagh
The rescue of the second F-15E crew member was made possible with the help of CIA subterfuge, according to reports in the US media. Here is some detail from the Guardian’s defence and security correspondent, Dan Sabbagh, who has filed a story about the mission:
The CIA took more than a day to locate the missing airman, according to a report in Axios, and launched a disinformation campaign in Iran to give the impression that he had been found in order to fool Iranian forces on the ground. After more than a day the intelligence agency located him, the report added.
Uncrewed Reaper drones were used to protect the airman once he had been located, by “striking Iranian military-aged males believed to be a threat who got within three kilometer” according to a correspondent with the US Air & Space Forces Magazine, who said he had been briefed on the operation.
We have some images of what appears to be the wreckage of a destroyed helicopter in central Iran. It is not clear what make the aircraft is or the circumstances under which it was reportedly shot down. The US has not commented on the images yet.
The Associated reports that US troops blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing them to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue of the missing American crew member of the F-15E fighter jet that was shot down over southern Iran on Friday.
Israel reportedly strikes building in south Beirut after warning
Israel has hit a building in south Beirut after issuing an evacuation warning (see previous post), according to reporting in Lebanese state media.
“The enemy targeted the threatened building in the Ghobeiry area towards Bir Hassan-Jnah,” Lebanon’s state-run national news agency reported. We will bring you more on this as soon as we have it.
