Iran said there will be a “devastating” response if Donald Trump goes ahead with bombing targets that include civilian infrastructure, as he threatened on social media.
Trump demanded that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening or “you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!”
Oil prices continue to soar as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed off by Iran, halting a waterway that carries more than one-fifth of the world’s oil exports.
Overnight on Monday Israel and the United States carried out a wave of attacks which killed more than 25 people in Iran as mediators circulated a new ceasefire proposal.
On Monday Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced in a statement published by Iranian news outlets that their intelligence chief, Majid Khademi, has been killed in a strike.
The statement said he was killed on Monday morning and accused Israel and the US of targeting him.
Tehran responded with missile fire on Israel and its Gulf neighbours.
In an effort to stop the fighting, Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators have sent Iran and the US a proposal calling for a 45-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to give time to find a way to end the war, two Middle East officials said.
Iran and the US have not responded to the proposal, sent late on Sunday night to both Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, the officials said.
One month after Trump started the US-Israeli war against Iran, triggering the wider conflict in the Middle East, there is little sign of tensions easing despite the president’s promises that their war aims were ahead of schedule.
His latest post drew wide condemnation from the international community, as well as a swift response from Iran, which has vowed to continue defending itself against US and Israeli aggression.
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"If attacks on civilian targets are repeated, the next stages of our offensive and retaliatory operations will be much more devastating and widespread," a spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters reportedly said.
Reports claim that at least 3,540 people have been killed in Iran, including 244 children, as the US and Israel continue to bomb across Iran.
A further 1,461 people have been killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes, with the IDF launching a ground invasion and occupying parts of Southern Lebanon, which might also be a breach of international law.
Meanwhile, 13 US military personnel have died since the start of Trump’s war, 19 people have died in Israel, and 108 have been killed in Iraq.
There have also been fatalities reported across the Gulf, Syria, and Occupied Palestine, as Iranian drone warfare and airstrikes continue across the region.
After his expletive social media post, the 79-year-old told Fox there would be a “good chance” a deal is made, but he’s also considering "blowing everything up and taking over the oil.”
Trump has repeatedly posted self-imposed deadlines for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, seemingly extending the deadline in recent days.
‘TACO’, an abbreviation for ‘Trump always chickens out’, when it comes to economic fallout, appears to be doing the rounds on social media as a result.
Sanctions on Russian oil have also been lifted as a result of the war, reportedly setting it up to earn some $14 billion that will likely be invested in its own war in Ukraine.
According to Iran’s central military command, Trump’s latest threats were seen as a "helpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action".
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Source: This article was originally published by Evening Standard
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