US President Donald Trump has issued a threat to strike Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on his platform Truth Social, Trump said if the Iran’s leaders refused to make a deal, the United States would be “blowing up” Iran’s strategically important Kharg Island.
On the platform he said the US was in “serious discussions” with a “NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME” to end the war.
“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 (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched”,” he said.
The White House has pointed to an April 6 deadline for Tehran to respond to this deal. However, Iran maintains that the US peace proposals are “unrealistic, illogical and excessive.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said it had received US peace proposals via intermediaries. This followed talks on Sunday between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
“Our position is clear. We are under military aggression. Therefore, all our efforts and strength are focused on defending ourselves,” Baghaei told a press conference.
Tensions between Iran’s Islamic regime and Trump escalated as thousands of additional American troops were deployed to the Middle East. These troops were in addition to 2,500 marines sent over the weekend, according to US officials cited by Reuters.
While there are no plans to send forces into Iran, the buildup is intended to strengthen readiness for possible future operations, including potential missions such as targeting key oil export infrastructure like Kharg Island.
The conflict has widened regionally, with Israel intercepting drones from Yemen after Iran-aligned Houthi forces launched missiles, and Hezbollah firing rockets from Lebanon. Israel responded with strikes on military targets in Tehran and Hezbollah-linked sites in Beirut.
Turkey also reported that a ballistic missile fired from Iran briefly entered its airspace before being intercepted by NATO defences, marking the fourth such incident since the war began.
Source: ABC News
