U.S. President Donald Trump has once again issued a warning to Iran, demanding it open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. The ultimatum came as search operations were underway for missing crew members after two American F-15E fighter jets were shot down the previous day. Trump threatened that "hell will unfold for them," but Iran pushed back, declaring "the gates of hell will open for you" in an escalating standoff.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday that "the 10 days I gave Iran to negotiate or open the Strait of Hormuz are almost up," adding that "in 48 hours, hell will unfold for them."
The remarks came after two U.S. fighter jets were shot down the previous day. On the same day, Iran rejected Washington's latest negotiation proposal.
Ali Abdollahi, central commander of Iran's Nuclear Weapons Control Agency, called Trump's remarks "a foolish act." Abdollahi said Trump "is threatening our facilities with desperate, angry and mentally unstable behavior," firing back at Trump's warning by saying "the gates of hell will open for you."
Colonel Ebrahim Jolfaghari of Iran's Nuclear Weapons Joint Military Command also warned that the region "will turn into hell" if hostilities by Israel and the United States escalate, adding that "the fantasy of defeating the Islamic Republic is a quagmire inviting your own downfall."
Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warned that "rather than dismissing military commanders, Trump himself should be ousted." A former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also said that "Iran has been preparing for war for years, and the surprises are not over yet." An Iranian lawmaker went further, issuing death threats against President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
According to Iran's state news agency IRNA, Colonel Ebrahim Jolfaghari, an Iranian military spokesman, said Iran is deploying newly domestically produced air defense systems to intercept U.S. aircraft. Adviser Mohsen Rezaei also dismissed U.S. claims that Iran's air defenses had been eliminated, calling them untrue.
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