Trump threatens to bomb Iran’s power plants, bridges if…

International

IN AN expletive-filled social media post Sunday, US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran's power plants and bridges if the country fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping by Tuesday deadline.

Trump repeated an earlier threat to unleash “hell” but told US media there was a good chance a deal could still be reached with Tehran.

Iran mocked the ultimatum, dismissing it as “helpless, nervous and stupid.”

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it. Open the Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell. Just watch. Praise be to Allah. President Donald J. Trump," the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Afterwards, Trump told Fox News there was a good chance a deal would be reached Monday, but he was considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil if an agreement to end the war was not reached quickly.

Trump later posted again, writing "Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time," an apparent extension of the deadline originally meant to expire Monday.

The president has postponed deadlines for reopening the strait several times. On March 21, he initially threatened to obliterate Iran's power plants if the strait was not fully open within 48 hours. He later delayed the deadline twice more.

Iran has significantly blocked transit in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane through which about one fifth of the world's oil and gas normally passes. The disruption has led to skyrocketing global oil prices and fears of higher inflation worldwide.

A spokesman for Iran's president's office said the strait would be reopened when a portion of transit tolls is used to compensate for all damage caused by the war. Iran has indicated it plans to charge ships to pass through the waterway.

An Iranian general called Trump's threat a helpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action, adding that the gates of hell would open for the US leader.

Trump's new threat came after he announced that the second crew member of a US fighter jet downed over Iran had been successfully rescued in an operation deep inside hostile territory. The pilot was recovered shortly after the F 15 was shot down on Friday.(Jene-V N. Sayson, CTU-TC BAEL-ELSD Intern)