Escalation in the Iran-US Tensions
President Donald Trump has made several alarming statements regarding Iran, claiming that the Iranian people desire the United States to unleash its military power against the country. His rhetoric has intensified amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global trade.
The Strait of Hormuz, known as a high-volume shipping route, has been effectively closed since the war broke out on February 28. Iran has vowed to block ‘enemy’ ships from passing through. The commander-in-chief has issued multiple threats over the past few days, aiming to get the Iranian regime to reopen the important trade route by Tuesday evening.
Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, “If they don’t come through, if they want to keep it closed, they’re going to lose every power plant and every other plant they have in the whole country.” He added, “If they don’t do something by Tuesday evening, they won’t have any power plant and they won’t have any bridges standing.”
When asked if he was concerned about the impact on Iran’s 93 million citizens, Trump argued, “No, they want us to do it.” He claimed that Iranians were “living in hell” and that they are too scared to protest in public due to the regime’s harsh measures. “The only reason they’re not on the street is they’ve killed 45,000 people,” Trump said, suggesting that anyone who protests risks being shot.
The president’s threats came shortly after he told Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst that he was “considering blowing everything up and taking control of the oil.” He also threatened to attack Iranian bridges and power plants in a bizarre Easter message earlier on Sunday, stating, “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fin’ Strait, you crazy b**ds, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump had previously stated in his address to the American people last week that he planned to hit Iran hard over the next two to three weeks. Days later, US-Israeli airstrikes destroyed Iran’s tallest bridge, killing eight people. The B1 bridge, which links Iran’s capital with the western city of Karaj, was targeted in two waves of strikes on Thursday after Trump said he would bomb Tehran “back to the Stone Age.”
Amid these threats, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf urged the US president to further escalate the conflict. He wrote on social media, “Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living hell for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn.” Iranian culture minister Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri also branded Trump an “unstable, delusional figure.”
However, after a US airman was left in hiding for nearly two days, administration officials noted that the president became more eager to apply pressure on the Iranians.
The airman, alongside a pilot, had been in an F-15 fighter jet that was shot down over a remote area of Iran on Friday. The pilot safely ejected and was rescued by two military helicopters the same day, but the second crew member, a highly-respected colonel, remained missing. He evaded pursuing Iranians for almost two days while Reaper drones protected him from danger.
Armed with only a handgun and injured from his ejection, the colonel hid from danger before making a daring dash to the rescue site as hundreds of special forces personnel searched the area for him in a complex mission. The operation involved deceiving Iranian forces by having the CIA spread word that US forces had already found the colonel, as he continued to hide in the mountains, reaching elevations of around 7,000 feet.
At the same time, Iranian forces put a $60,000 bounty on the pilot’s ‘head,’ urging locals near the crash site to seize the American. US warplanes fired bombs and weapons to keep the Iranians away, as soldiers scoured the area for the missing pilot. As US forces closed in on the stranded officer, a firefight broke out with Iranian troops.
When they made the extraction, two of the five rescue planes became stuck in a remote airfield inside Iran and were blown up by special forces to avoid being captured. Three rescue planes flew out of Iran to Kuwait, and the mission was completed just before midnight.
Trump touted the operation late Saturday night as “one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US History.” He stated this was the first time in military memory that two US Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in “Enemy Territory,” as he defiantly said that no American warfighter would ever be left behind.
He said dozens of aircraft armed with “the most lethal weapons in the World” were sent by the US military to retrieve him. “This brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” Trump added in a Truth Social post.
He emphasized that both operations were concluded “without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded.” Iranian media reported five people were killed in strikes during the US rescue operation.
