WASHINGTON/CAIRO: President Donald Trump threatened to rain "hell" on Tehran if it did not make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline, as he praised US special forces who rescued an airman in a high-risk mission deep inside Iran.
Fresh aerial strikes were reported across the region on Monday, more than five weeks since the US and Israel began pounding Iran in a war that has killed thousands and damaged economies by boosting oil prices.
Iran responded to the attacks by effectively closing the Hormuz waterway, a conduit for about a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas supply, and attacking Israel, U.S. military bases and energy infrastructure around the Gulf.
Iran fired volleys of rockets at Israel, with missile debris hitting Haifa, Tel Aviv, and other spots, but there were no immediate reports of deaths.
In Abu Dhabi, authorities were tackling fallen debris in the Musaffah industrial area after a successful interception by air defence systems.
In a post laden with expletives on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure that critics say would constitute a war crime.
"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran," he said.
"There will be nothing like it!!! Open the xxx Strait, you crazy xxx, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP"
Mixed messages
In the kind of mixed messaging that has baffled supporters, foes and financial markets alike, Trump told Fox News on Sunday that Iran was negotiating, with a deal possible by Monday.
Later on Sunday, Axios said the United States, Iran and regional mediators were discussing terms of a potential 45-day ceasefire that could bring a permanent end to the war, citing four US, Israeli and regional sources with knowledge of the talks.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
The mediators were negotiating a two-phased deal, the report said. The first phase would be a 45-day ceasefire; the second would be an agreement on ending the war.
Daring US rescue
Trump described the rescue of the airman in the early hours of Sunday as "one of the most daring" such missions in US history.
The airman, the weapons officer of an F-15 jet shot down on Friday, was wounded but "will be just fine", Trump said in a message on X. The jet's pilot had been rescued earlier.
Under cover of darkness, US commandos slipped deep into Iran undetected to scale a 7,000-ft (2,100-m) -high ridge and took the stranded American weapons specialist to safety before dawn on Sunday.
Two MC-130 aircraft that had ferried some of the roughly 100 special operations forces into rugged terrain south of Tehran suffered a mechanical failure and could not take off, a US official told Reuters.
Their commanders made a high-risk decision, ordering additional aircraft to fly into Iran to extract the group in waves.
US troops destroyed the disabled MC-130s and four additional helicopters in Iran, rather than risk leaving behind sensitive equipment. Iran said several US aircraft were destroyed during the operation.