Iran’s top officials pushed back Monday against President Trump’s deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, striking a defiant tone as U.S.-Israeli and Iranian forces traded missile and drone strikes across the region.
Trump posted an ultimatum on social media Sunday demanding the strait be reopened by Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. In an earlier post he wrote that the day would be “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” adding profanity-laced threats: “Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” Attacking civilian infrastructure that does not contribute to military action is considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
Iranian officials condemned the threats. Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabai, a spokesman for Iran’s president, called Trump’s statements a reaction of “sheer desperation and anger” and said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen only when damages from the war are compensated under a new legal regime, financed in part by transit fees. Iran’s foreign ministry warned it is determined to defend national security and sovereignty “with all might,” Esmail Baghaei told state-linked Wana news agency. Iran’s U.N. mission said Trump was seeking to “drag the region into an endless war” and accused him of public incitement to terrorize civilians and evidence of intent to commit war crimes.
Diplomatic initiatives
Envoys from Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey submitted a proposal to the U.S. and Iran for a 45-day ceasefire that would include steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Associated Press reported. The plan was presented Sunday to Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. Qatar’s prime minister urged a return to negotiations, and Oman said its diplomats met with Iranian counterparts over the weekend to discuss options to ensure smooth passage through the strait. Oman said experts from both sides presented proposals that will be studied.
Israel says it killed IRGC intelligence chief
Iran confirmed the killing of Majid Khadami, identified as an intelligence chief in the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Israel would continue to “hunt down” Iran’s leaders one by one and threatened to destroy Iran’s national infrastructure if Iran keeps firing at Israeli civilians. Israel has said it is accelerating production of interceptors as it depletes its stockpile shooting down incoming missiles.
Strikes and counterstrikes across the Gulf
Israeli officials said U.S. and Israeli jets struck Iranian petrochemical, steel and other industrial sites, disabling facilities they said supported Iran’s missile production. Iran responded with missiles and drones aimed at Israel and oil facilities across the Persian Gulf that it said supply fuel and products used by the U.S. military.
Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv, central Israeli towns and the northern port city of Haifa. Iranian officials said they targeted an oil refinery supplying fuel for Israeli jets. In Haifa, a six-floor residential building was hit and engulfed in flames; emergency responders searched the rubble. Authorities reported fatalities from strikes in Haifa. Magen David Adom paramedics treated injured civilians, and footage showed smoke and fires in residential areas.
Across the Gulf, Iran-backed drones struck the Shuwaikh oil sector complex in Kuwait, where the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation headquarters and the oil ministry are located; Kuwait said fires and “substantial material damage” occurred and that several operational facilities managed by the national petroleum company and petrochemical industries were hit. Over the weekend Iran also struck two Kuwaiti power and desalination plants, knocking out generation units, officials said.
In the UAE, a telecom building and a commercial port were targeted. The UAE reported intercepting nine ballistic missiles, about 50 drones and a cruise missile fired by Iran on Sunday and said air defenses remained engaged into Monday.
Bab al-Mandeb warning
Aliakbar Velayati, an adviser to newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warned Iran may next target the Bab al-Mandeb Strait — the chokepoint between Yemen and the Horn of Africa that links the Red Sea and Suez Canal to the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. He said Iran views Bab al-Mandeb “with the same intensity as Hormuz” and warned that Iran-backed Houthi militants, who entered the conflict last week by attacking Israel from Yemen, could disrupt global energy and trade routes.
The exchanges come as diplomatic channels scramble to prevent further escalation while the United States, Israel and Gulf countries contend with attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure and Iran insists it will defend its sovereignty. Carrie Kahn and Daniel Estrin contributed reporting from Tel Aviv, Aya Batrawy from Dubai and Tina Kraja from Washington, D.C.