CAIRO/WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel on Saturday stepped up pressure on Iran to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway or face attacks on its energy infrastructure, while Iranian and U.S. forces searched for a missing U.S. crew member from one of two downed warplanes.
Trump, who has sent mixed messages since the conflict began with a joint U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran on February 28, told Tehran that his latest deadline for a deal to end the war was fast approaching.
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“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them. Glory be to GOD!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump’s messaging about the war has veered between hinting at diplomatic progress and making threats to bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages”.
In an apparent move to heap further pressure on Tehran following Trump’s latest ultimatum, a senior Israeli defence official said Israel was preparing to attack Iranian energy facilities, and was awaiting the green light from the U.S. The timeframe for such attacks would be within the next week, the official said. Trump has previously threatened to hit Iranian power plants if his demands were not met.
Washington faced heightened stakes as the conflict entered its sixth week, with the prospect of a U.S. service member alive and on the run in Iran, slim chances for peace talks and polls showing low public support for the war.
With Iran’s leadership defiant since the start of the conflict, its foreign minister left the door open in principle for peace talks with the U.S. via mediation from Pakistan, but gave no sign of Tehran’s willingness to bow to Trump’s demands.
“We are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and have never refused to go to Islamabad. What we care about are the terms of a conclusive and lasting END to the illegal war that is imposed on us,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X.
The war has killed thousands, sparked an energy crisis and threatened lasting damage to the world economy. Iran has virtually shut the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.
Iran has rained drones and missiles down on Israel, and also taken aim at Gulf countries allied to the U.S., which have so far held back from joining the war directly for fear of further escalation.
Iranian state TV said its military had launched drones at U.S. radar installations and a U.S.-linked aluminium plant in the United Arab Emirates and U.S. military headquarters in Kuwait in retaliation for deadly attacks on Iranian industrial centres.
Iran earlier attacked an Israel-affiliated vessel with a drone in the strait, setting the ship on fire, state media said, citing the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ navy.
