On Sunday, April 5, President Trump made multiple warnings to Iran on Truth Social and issued what appears to be a hard deadline for reaching an agreement in negotiations with Iranian representatives:
“Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!”
In a telephone interview with Fox News, Trump declared his plans with the region should Iran fail to agree with the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline.
“If [the Iranians] don’t make a deal, and fast, I’m considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil,” Trump said.
The President plans to strike key infrastructure in Iran, namely bridges and power plants, to cripple the country and force the Strait to reopen. The Strait of Hormuz has been a critical factor in the ongoing conflict with Iran, as the passageway sees transit of millions of barrels of crude oil and oil products each day.
According to the International Energy Agency, “any disruption to flows from the Strait would have huge consequences for world oil markets.”
While only 10% of U.S. petroleum (crude oil and refined crude oil products) comes from the Middle East, the uncertainty and instability in the region have caused oil prices to rise across the board. This leads to rising prices at the gas pump, where most Americans are feeling the effects of disruptions to the oil supply chain.
In an effort to lower tensions in the area, mediators from Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt sent a proposal to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. The measure would employ a 45-day ceasefire, allowing time for continued negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end the conflict for good.
Iran rejected this proposal and responded with a 10-point proposal of their own. President Trump acknowledged the new proposal, but said it was “not good enough.”
In a press conference on Monday, Trump reiterated his threat to Iran if they refuse to cooperate and allow the free movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said.
Throughout the press conference, the President told reporters that an agreement would be preferable to further strikes but showed no signs of yielding if Iran fails to meet the deadline.
President Trump, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, also briefed the press on the successful rescue operation that occurred over the weekend.
On Friday, an F-15E Strike Eagle and its two-man crew were shot down over Iranian airspace. A second aircraft, an A-10 Thunderbolt II, was also shot down, but the pilot was able to move the plane into Kuwaiti airspace before it went down.
The pilot of the F-15E was recovered within a few hours with assistance from two U.S. helicopters. After his recovery, U.S. officials did not immediately communicate the status of the second crew member.
U.S. forces raced to recover the second airman before he could face capture at the hands of the Iranian military. The second crew member, a weapons systems officer who remains unnamed at this time, hid for hours in the mountains, armed only with a pistol, until he was retrieved by U.S. personnel.
The CIA also assisted in the operation with a misinformation campaign to confuse Iranian intelligence. The agency used false intelligence to give the impression that the second airman had already been recovered and taken out of Iran. Additionally, it was the CIA that ultimately located the officer and led to his rescue.
While both F-15E crew members sustained injuries, they are expected to recover. The complex and dangerous operation yielded no U.S. casualties, making the mission a success despite incredible odds.
