Iran war: Trump amps up threats ahead of Hormuz deadline

Trump warned a "whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran doesn't open the Strait of Hormuz, adding, however, "maybe something ...

wonderful could happen, who knows." Meanwhile, strikes were reported on Kharg Island.

Here are the main developments in the US-Israel war with Iran on Tuesday, April 7:
Russia, China veto UN resolution on Strait of Hormuz security
Russia and China on Tuesday opposed a UN Security Council resolution that was aiming to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes that the superpowers would abstain.

The vote ended 11-2, with Pakistan and Colombia abstaining.

Around one-fifth of the world's oil typically passes through the strait off Iran's coastline.

Bahrain had put forward the motion, which encouraged states "to coordinate efforts, defensive in nature, commensurate to the circumstances, to contribute to ensuring the safety and security of navigation across the Strait of Hormuz."
How this would have worked in practice, and whether any navies would have been willing to deploy naval assets in the narrow waterway amid the tension and fighting in the region, is not entirely clear, though the text recommended naval escorts as one option, and deterrence as another.

Shipping in limbo as Strait of Hormuz crisis deepens
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"Failing to adopt this resolution sends the wrong signal to the world, to the people of the world," Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said after the vote, "the signal that the threat to international waterway can pass without any decisive action by the international organization responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security."
The US had supported the motion, also in its original draft form that would have more explicitly authorized the use of force to guard cargo.

"No one should tolerate that they are holding the global economy at gunpoint," Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the UN, said of Iran.

"But today, Russia and China did tolerate it.

They sided with a regime that seeks to intimidate the Gulf into submission, even as it brutalizes it own people during a national blackout, for daring to imagine dignity or freedom."
Russia and China have blamed the US and Israel for starting the war in Iran and now the wider Gulf region.

They argued at the Security Council that the first priority should be halting the fighting, saying this would in turn ease passage through the strait.

Why reopening the Strait of Hormuz by force is so dangerous
Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah says it will free US journalist Shelly Kittleson
The Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah has said it will release abducted US journalist Shelly Kittelson, on the condition that she leaves Iraq immediately.

Kittleson was abducted on March 31 in Baghdad.

According to the AL-Monitor Middle East news site, Kittleson was a US freelance journalist based in Rome who had covered several wars in the region and had contributed articles to the outlet.

US news agency the Associated Press had earlier reported on moves to try to secure her release.

Citing unnamed sources in the Iraqi goverment, it reported that Baghdad was willing to release six Kataib Hezbollah members from detention in exchange for the 49-year-old's freedom.

AP cited anonymous US officials as saying they had warned Kittleson multiple times of threats against her, but the experienced freelance war correspondent replied that she did not want to leave.

US Embassy in Bahrain issues 'shelter in place' warning
The US Embassy in Bahrain has advised American citizens not seeking to leave the Gulf state to shelter in place until further notice.

"The US Embassy in Manama has direfted all US government employees to shelter in place," it wrote on Tuesday .

"We recommend all Americans in Bahrain do the same until further notice.

To the extent possible, remain in a secure structure, and stay away from windows."
The embassy has already suspended routine consular services.

It advised people not planning to leave the country to "have a supply of food, water, medications, and other essential items" on hand.

"Iran and its aligned terrorist militias may intend to target American universities in Bahrain," the embassy warned.

"Iran has specifically threatened American universities across the Middle East."
Two French nationals held in Iran are on their way back to France following their release in November after more than three years in prison on espionage chanrges, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.

"Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and on their way to France, after three and a half years in detention in Iran," Macron wrote online.

The AFP news agency cited a source at the French Foreign Ministry as saying that they had left Tehran at dawn and were "currently in Azerbaijan."
Kohler, 41, and Paris, 72, were arrested in May 2022 and sentenced to lengthy jail terms in October , shortly before their eventual release from Tehran's notorius Evin prison as part of a prisoner swap.

They had been waiting to leave the country since, something that became more problematic when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

Both are teachers, though Paris is retired.

Their families say their visit to the country had been purely touristic in nature.

Netanyahu says Israel struck bridges, railways in Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel struck railways and bridges in Iran on Tuesday "used by" the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

His comments followed reports from Iranian officials of damage to at least two briges and railway infrastructure.

"We are crushing the terror regime in Iran ...

with even greater vigor and with increasing force," Netanyahu said in a video released by his office.

"Yesterday, our pilots destroyed transport aircraft and dozens of helicopters at an Iranian Air Force base.

Today they struck the railways and bridges used by the Revolutionary Guards."
Netanyahu claimed that the IRGC was using the railways and bridges to transport materials and make weapons.

He said he had approved the strikes with Defense Minister Israel Katz and said they weren't meant to target civilians but rather the government.

Trump vows to hit more Iranian infrastructure
Trump: 'A whole civilization will die tonight,' or 'maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen'
US President Donald Trump's first foray onto social media on Tuesday sought to portray a high-stakes situation, as his self-imposed deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz nears expiry on Tuesday night with no sign of Tehran budging.

"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.

I don't want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump began.

But he immediately indicated a willingness to backpedal and voiced hope that Tehran would meet his demands in the next few hours.

"However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?"
"We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world," the 79-year-old surmised.

He concluded his message by proclaiming "God Bless the Great People of Iran," having started by threatening them with extinction four sentences previously.

Trump's Vice President JD Vance, on deployment in Hungary amid Viktor Orban's difficult election campaign , told reporters that "there's going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then" when the deadline expires at 0000 GMT/UTC Wednesday.

Trump gives Iran more time to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Bridges, highway hit in strikes on Iran
Iranian officials say US-Israeli airstrikes struck two bridges and a highway, killing at least two people.

State media reported the bridges were hit near the holy city of Qom and in Kashan.

A major highway linking Tabriz to Tehran was closed after an overpass was damaged, while power cuts were reported west of the capital.

The Israeli military had said it completed a broad wave of strikes, without mentioning specific targets.

Explosions reported on strategic Kharg Island
Explosions have been reported on Iran's Kharg Island, the semi‑official Mehr news agency said.

The agency reported the island, which handles the bulk of Iran's oil exports, was under attack.

Unnamed US officials told Reuters and Axios that the US military had carried out strikes on military targets on Kharg island, without sharing further details.

The US military previously carried out airstrikes on the island in mid-March.

Two dead after gunfight outside Israeli consulate in Istanbul
At least two attackers were killed and one seriously wounded in a gun battle with police outside the building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul.

Reuters video shows officers drawing their weapons and taking cover as sustained gunfire echoed for around ten minutes.

One person was seen covered in blood.

Other footage captured an apparent attacker moving among police and security buses, firing both an automatic rifle and a handgun.

Two bodies were visible nearby.

One police officer was injured during the confrontation.

Authorities have secured the area and are investigating the motive behind the attack.

Iran attacks Saudi petrochemical hub of Jubail
Overnight attacks hit Saudi Arabia's eastern industrial city of Jubail, reportedly setting fire to a major petrochemical complex.

A witness told the AFP news agency explosions were heard at plants operated by SABIC, the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, and workers were evacuated from nearby housing.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsbility for the attacks later Tuesday, claiming they were in response to "aggression against [Iran's] Asaluyeh petrochemical plants," which had reportedly ​been hit by several explosions overnight.

The IRGC said in a statement it used medium range missiles and suicide drones to target the Sadara complex, a $20 billion joint ‌venture between Aramco and Dow that was shut last week, and ‌other ​facilities in Jubail including one belonging to ExxonMobil.

There was no immediate comment from the Saudi government or SABIC.

German industry body warns Russia profiting from Hormuz disruption
Russia is earning billions more from commodity exports as the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, according to the German-Russian Foreign Trade Chamber in Moscow.

The chamber, representing German business interests, says Russia is making more than €10 billion ($11.57 billion) a month from oil, gas and fertilizer exports, benefiting from sharply higher global prices.

"At the current price level, Moscow can generate around $50 billion in additional revenue per year from oil and gas alone," the chamber said.

For fertilizer, Russia could achieve up to €8.9 billion in additional revenue under a medium scenario.

All of this could "bring Russia an unexpected windfall on a historic scale," Matthias Schepp, the chamber's chairman, said.

Russia continues to use the proceeds from commodity sales to finance its war against Ukraine .

Oil prices edge up as Trump's Hormuz deadline approaches
Oil prices surged in early trading Tuesday as US President Donald Trump's deadline to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or be "taken out" loomed.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose above $111 a barrel, up more than 50% since the war began.

US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed to around $115 a barrel, its highest level in a month.

Iran warned that any US attacks on its bridges or power plants would trigger retaliation against Gulf energy infrastructure.

Such a move could further squeeze already tight oil supplies and deepen risks to the global economy.

France’s foreign minister has warned that any attacks on Iranian civilian or energy infrastructure would violate international law and risk serious retaliation.

Jean‑Noël Barrot said such strikes would almost certainly trigger reprisals from Iran and spark a dangerous new phase of escalation.

"We're already seeing a surge of fuel prices.

If energy facilities in Iran were struck, we can expect reprisals from the Iranian regime that would further worsen an already worrying situation," he told France Info television.

He was speaking ahead of the deadline set by Donald Trump for possible strikes against Iran.

Barrot told France Info radio that further escalation could drag the region and the global economy into a “vicious circle.”
Israeli military issues warning to Iranians to avoid taking trains
Israel's military has issued a warning to Iranians not to use trains or go near railway lines, saying their lives would be at risk.

In a post on its Persian-language account on X, the military urged people to avoid all train travel across Iran until 9 p.m.

local time.

It said being on trains or near railway infrastructure would "endanger" civilians.

The warning comes as tensions between Israel and Iran remain high.

Iran has restricted internet access for weeks, limiting the ability of many people inside the country to see the message directly.

However, Farsi-language satellite news channels based abroad are reporting the warning, allowing it to circulate inside Iran.

Iran rejects ceasefire deal as Trump's deadline for attacks on infrastructure nears
Iran has rejected a US ceasefire proposal brokered by Pakistan, aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and launching peace talks within weeks.

Sources say Tehran dismissed a 45-day truce, demanding instead a permanent end to the war.

Iran's state news agency, IRNA, reported the response included 10 conditions, including sanctions relief, reconstruction, and guarantees for safe passage through the strait.

The proposal would have lifted an effective blockade of the strategic waterway.

Temporary ceasefire would effectively mean Iranian surrender
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning, saying Iran could be "taken out in one night" if it refuses to agree.

He threatened widespread strikes on bridges, power plants, and other infrastructure by early Wednesday without a deal.