Washington: United States’ President Donald Trump on Sunday made new, expletive-laden threats to escalate strikes on Iran and its infrastructure if it does not open the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline, after American forces rescued an aviator whose Iran-downed plane fell behind enemy lines.
A defiant Iran showed no sign of backing down, striking infrastructure targets in neighbouring Gulf Arab countries and challenging the US account of the rescue.
In a social media post, Trump promised strikes on Iran’s power plants and bridges and said the country would be “living in Hell” if the Strait, a crucial waterway for global trade, is not opened to marine traffic by Tuesday. He ended with “Praise be to Allah”.
Trump has issued such deadlines before but extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war, which has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices in just over five weeks.
Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets like oil fields and desalination plants critical for drinking water, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.
A US Air Force officer whose jet was shot down in Iran hid in a mountain crevice and hiked up to 7,000 feet to evade the enemy before he was rescued by the American forces after a two-day “life-or-death” mission, the New York Times said.
On Sunday, Trump called an “amazing show of bravery and talent” by all the rescue operations for the pilot for whom the Iranian regime had offered a reward.
“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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social calling the rescued crew as “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!” he said.
The White House also declared on its social media handles: “We will never leave an American warfighter behind.”
Detailing the rescue operation, a report in the New York Times said the Air Force officer was rescued by the US Special Operations forces in a “risky mission” on Saturday night.
At least five people were killed, and several “flying objects” were destroyed, including a transport plane, during the US operation to rescue the downed fighter jet crew member, the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said, reported Iranian media.
According to the spokesperson of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the unified command of the Iranian armed forces, the downed aircraft included a C-130 military transport plane in the south of Isfahan, and two Black Hawk helicopters. The Iranian army also reportedly downed an Israeli drone.
