Trump hails Iran rescue, warns of strikes as deadline looms
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks with reporters during a news conference with President Donald Trump on Monday.
Photo: AP Sounding triumphant following what the White House described as a daring operation to rescue a wounded American pilot from Iran, US President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his warning that the US could strike Iran’s critical infrastructure if negotiations fail to produce the desired results by his deadline of Tuesday, April 7 at 8pm EST. “Their entire country can be taken out in a night and that night could be tomorrow,” said the US president about Iran.
With Trump’s deadline looming, Pakistan floated a ceasefire proposal to halt fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz ahead of 15 to 20 days of talks, but Tehran rejected the offer, warning of “more crushing” and “more extensive” retaliatory attacks.
Flanked by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, Trump described “the massive operation” undertaken to rescue the crew of a downed F-15 in Iran, calling it “historical”.
It was “a breathtaking show of force and precision,” said the US president of the operation that rescued the F-15 pilot and the weapons officer with no casualties.
Trump also said his administration was investigating an alleged “leaker” who revealed that at least one US serviceman was lost, vowing to invoke “national security” to obtain information from the first media outlet to report it.
On Sunday, the US president issued a 48-hour ultimatum, demanding that Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday at 8.00pm EST, threatening a “rain of bombs” targeting Iran’s public infrastructure, including power facilities and bridges.
These remarks follow intense speculation regarding Trump’s health after he vanished from the public eye over the weekend.
The White House dismissed these concerns, attributing his absence to his oversight of what the administration described as a “high-risk” rescue mission.
The operation successfully extracted a wounded American pilot from deep within Iranian territory.
As the mission concluded, Trump took to social media to issue a series of expletive-laden warnings renewing a 48-hour ultimatum first issued in late March.
He demanded that Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday at 8.00pm EST, threatening a “rain of bombs” targeting Iran’s public infrastructure, including power facilities and bridges.
On Monday morning, Trump told an Easter Day gathering on the White Hou
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