LIVE: Trump threatens to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants

Donald Trump has threatened to blow up Iran’s oil wells and desalination plants unless a deal can be reached to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, the President said the US is in ‘serious discussions’ with a ‘more reasonable regime’ to end the war but said he will take action unless an agreement is made

‘Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately “Open for Business,” we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched,”’ Trump penned.

Here are the latest developments as the US-Israel war with Iran enters its fifth week:

• Donald Trump has threatened to blow up Iran’s power plants, oil wells, desalination plants and Kharg Island unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened
• His latest remarks come hours after he told The Financial Times he could ‘take Iran’s oil’ and added Kharg Island could be overtaken ‘very easily’
• A power station worker in Kuwait was killed following a missile strike which caused significant damage at the energy site
• An Israeli oil refinery has caught fire after a missile strike
• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirm the death of navy commander Alireza Tangsiri after he was targeted in an Israeli airstrike last week
• Iran has restored electricity across Tehran and nearby areas after strikes damaged power grids and briefly disrupted supply, the deputy energy minister said
• Indonesia has confirmed that one of its peacekeepers was killed in Lebanon where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah
• Attacks are continuing on Gulf states as Saudi Arabia intercepts five ballistic missiles while air defences have also been operating in Dubai
• Pakistan has said it is ready to broker and host ‘meaningful talks’ between the US and and Iran to bring an end to the war
• A teenager has become the sixth Israeli soldier killed in southern Lebanon since fighting broke out with Hezbollah on March 2

Stick with us as we bring you the latest developments throughout the day.

Nato has shot down an Iranian missile after it entered Turkey’s airspace, the country’s defence officials said.

In a statement published by the Turkish defence ministry, a ballistic munition ‘determined to have been launched from Iran’ crossed into Turkey before it was ‘neutralised’ by Nato air defence assets in the eastern Mediterranean.

‘All necessary measures are being taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country’s territory and airspace, and all developments in the region are being closely monitored with priority given to our national security’, the statement read.

The latest interception marks the fourth occasion a missile from Iran has been countered in Turkey.

by James Gordon, US News Reporter

President Donald Trump is weighing a highly complex and potentially explosive military operation to send US special operations forces deep inside Iran to seize its stockpile of enriched uranium.

The move could drag American troops into hostile territory for days – or even a week – and risk a dramatic escalation of the war. It was reportedly one of many being proposed by the Pentagon.

US officials say the stealth plan would target nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium at either one or two nuclear sites in Natanz and Isfahan.

The objective would be to remove the radioactive substance entirely from Iranian control, eliminating any pathway to a nuclear weapon.

The proposal remains under review, and Trump has not signed off on it. But officials told The Wall Street Journal he is seriously considering the option, even as advisers warn of the dangers to American forces and the possibility of a broader conflict.

Wall Street stocks opened higher today after Donald Trump claimed progress in talks with Iran, even though he threatened to destroy energy facilities and Kharg Island.

About ten minutes into trading, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite was up 0.8 per cent at 21,124.23, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9 per cent at 45,566.69, and the broad-based S&P 500 also rose 0.9 per cent to 6,426.20.

It comes as oil prices rose earlier today.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude was up 2.2 per cent to $115.02 per barrel this morning, while the main US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, rose 1.7 per cent to $101.35.

Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management said investors ‘would desperately like to see an exit ramp in this war.’

An ex-US military chief has warned Donald Trump he could be accused of carrying out a ‘war crime’ if he follows through on his threat to bomb Iran’s power plants.

Retired US Army General and former Nato Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Wesley Clark, said during an interview last week that Trump should not bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure.

‘A lot of people will say it’s a war crime because mostly these power plants are probably there for the civilian population,’ said Clark in a NewsNation interview.

‘You cannot destroy civilian assets in an effort to put harm on the population.’

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has signalled the US will secure the Strait of Hormuz to help ensure it remains open for shipping.

Bessent added the global oil market is well supplied, with more boats traveling through the key waterway which carries a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.

‘Over time, the US is going to retake control of the Straits and there will be freedom of navigation, whether it is through US escorts or a multinational escort,’ Bessent said in an interview with Fox News.

Oil prices are on track for a record monthly rise as investors assess conflicting developments in the Middle East.

Brent crude rose 2 per cent to $114.85 a barrel, on course for a 59 per cent gain in March that would exceed the monthly jump that followed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

It comes as Donald Trump issued another warning to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or risk US attacks on its oil wells and power plants.

While Pakistan said it was preparing to host ‘meaningful talks’ to end the conflict in coming days, even though Tehran accused Washington of preparing a land assault as it builds up forces in the region.

‘The longer the Strait remains closed, the sharper the drawdown in buffer supplies that could spark dramatic increases in the price of crude oil, natural gas and other commodities,’ warned Bruce Kasman, global head of economics at JPMorgan.

‘A scenario in which the Strait remains closed for an additional month would be consistent with oil prices rising towards $150 a barrel and constraints on industrial consumers of energy supply.’

Israel’s military says it has struck a university in Tehran run by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, claiming the institution was used for advanced weapons research.

‘In recent days, one of the IRGC’s central military infrastructure sites was recently struck, located within the compound of Imam Hossein University – the IRGC’s primary military academic institution, which also serves as an emergency asset for the regime’s military bodies,’ a military spokesperson said.

Senior Iranian officials, including former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, had previously visited the university.

‘During the operation, the IDF struck military infrastructure within the university multiple times in order to inflict significant damage to the regime’s weapons production and development capabilities,’ the military added.

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire at an oil refinery in Haifa

Israel’s fire and rescue service said its crews were working to extinguish a large blaze at the Haifa oil refinery after it was hit by debris from a missile interception.

Television channels showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky from the site, while the fire service shared photos of a tank on fire.

‘The incident involves a fire at a tank containing 3,000 cubic metres of gasoline,’ the service said, adding that the gasoline was being pumped out of the tank.

Firefighters were operating at the scene ‘where debris from an interception was identified following the latest barrage’, the service said, adding there were no casualties.

The incident occurred shortly after the Israeli military said it had detected new incoming missiles from Iran.

It was not immediately clear whether the refinery had been hit by debris from a missile from Iran or Lebanon or from an intercepting Israeli projectile.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told Good Morning America that Iran will not be allowed to create a toll on the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking about Iran, Rubio said: ‘Now they are making threats about controlling the Strait of Hormuz and creating a tolling system. That’s not going to be allowed to happen.

‘The President has a number of options available to him to prevent that happening.’

Israel has renewed its bombardment of Beirut while continuing strikes on southern Lebanon, one of which hit an army checkpoint and killed a soldier.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East conflict when Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2 in revenge for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, the opening salvo in the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.

Israel has responded with large-scale air strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive in the south. Lebanese authorities say more than 1,200 people have been killed since the hostilities broke out.

In south Lebanon, where state media reported a series of Israeli air strikes, the Lebanese army said one of its soldiers was killed and others wounded in an attack on one of its checkpoints in the Tyre region.

A military source told AFP that the strike was the first direct targeting of a Lebanese army checkpoint since the start of the war.