Cars drive past a billboard depicting Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in Tehran, Iran, on April 5, 2026. (Credit: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters)
BEIRUT — President Donald Trump threatened to rain "hell" on Tehran if it did not make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline, as he praised U.S. special forces who rescued an American airman in a high-risk mission from deep inside Iran.
The U.S. and Israel have pounded Iran with missiles and airstrikes for more than five weeks under the pretext of wanting to destroy Iran's alleged nuclear weapon development program, ballistic missile arsenal, and its support for regional proxies.
Tehran has effectively closed the Hormuz waterway, a conduit for around a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas supply, and attacked U.S. military bases and other targets around the Gulf.
Explosions shook Tehran on Monday morning and a U.S.-Israeli strike on a residential building south of the city killed at least 13 people, an official told Iranian state media. Reuters was unable to verify the report. In a post laden with expletives on his Truth Social platform, Trump on Sunday threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure that critics say would constitute a war crime.
Mixed signals from the White House
"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 Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP."
In the kind of mixed messaging that has baffled supporters, foes, and financial markets alike, Trump told Fox News on Sunday that Iran was negotiating, with a deal possible by Monday. Later on Sunday, Axios reported the U.S., Iran, and regional mediators are discussing terms of a potential 45-day cease-fire that could lead to a permanent end to the war, citing four U.S., Israeli, and regional sources with knowledge of the talks.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
The mediators were negotiating a two-phased deal, the report said. The first phase would be a 45-day cease-fire; the second would be an agreement on ending the war.
Iran condemns 'reckless' US, retaliates against Gulf
Tehran is demanding an end to hostilities and its parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf condemned Trump's threats, saying he was being misled 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 posted Sunday on X. Showing it still had fight despite the U.S.-Israeli pounding, Iran expanded its retaliatory 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 on Sunday they hit an Israeli-linked vessel at Dubai's Jebel Ali port.
In Kuwait, drones sparked fires and caused “severe material damage” at petrochemical plants operated by affiliates of state oil firm Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, the company said.
The strikes underscored Iran’s ability to sustain cross-border attacks and disrupt infrastructure across multiple Gulf states, exposing vulnerabilities in energy and maritime hubs.
In Israel too, media showed search-and-rescue teams combing debris in the northern city of Haifa on Sunday after an Iranian missile hit a residential building. Israeli paramedics said nine people were being treated, and Israeli media later reported rescuers had recovered two dead from the rubble.
US commando operation
Trump announced the rescue of the airman in the early hours of Sunday, describing the operation as "one of the most daring" such missions in U.S. history.
The airman, the weapons officer of an F-15 jet shot down on Friday, was wounded but "will be just fine," Trump said in a message on X. The jet's pilot was rescued earlier.
Under cover of darkness, U.S. commandos slipped deep into Iran, undetected, scaled a 7,000-foot (2,100-metre) ridge and took the stranded American weapons specialist to safety before dawn on Sunday.
Two MC-130 aircraft that had ferried some of the roughly 100 special operations forces into rugged terrain south of Tehran suffered a mechanical failure and could not take off, a U.S. official told Reuters. Their commanders made a high-risk decision, ordering additional aircraft to fly into Iran to extract the group in waves.
The rescue force was pulled out in stages, and U.S. troops destroyed the disabled MC-130s and four additional helicopters inside Iran rather than risk leaving sensitive equipment behind. Iran said several U.S. aircraft were destroyed during the operation.
Israeli war on Lebanon
The U.S. and Israel launched the ongoing regional war with airstrikes against Iran on Feb. 28. Thousands of people have been killed since then, mainly in Iran and Lebanon. Israel renewed its full-scale war against Lebanon on March 2, with intense airstrikes, mass displacement orders, destruction of key infrastructure, and a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
The current death toll from the ongoing Israeli offensive in Lebanon has risen to 1,461, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, with Israeli airstrikes killing another 11 people in Lebanon on Sunday alone.
