Trump threatens to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s energy sources

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened widespread destruction of Iran’s energy resources and other vital infrastructure, 
including desalination plants, if a deal to end the war is not reached “shortly.”
Tehran meanwhile struck a key water and electrical plant in Kuwait, and an oil refinery in Israel came under attack. Israel and the US launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, as the war raged with no end in sight.
Trump’s new threat in a social media post and earlier comments in an interview with the Financial Times that suggested American troops could seize Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub highlighted a frequent tactic. He has repeatedly claimed to be making diplomatic progress— though Tehran denies negotiating directly — while ramping up his threats and sending thousands more US troops to the Middle East.
“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump told the newspaper. “It would also mean we had to be there (on Kharg Island) for a while.”
The president also said that Iran had agreed to allow 20 ships carrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday morning and continuing over the next few days “out of a sign of respect.”
“I would only say that we’re doing extremely well in that negotiation but you never know with Iran because we negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday said the US’s 15-point list for halting the conflict contains “largely excessive, unrealistic, and unreasonable demands,” contradicting US President Donald Trump’s earlier claims that Iran had agreed to “most of” of the requests on the list.
Baghaei added that there are currently no direct negotiations between Iran and the United States, adding that messages from Washington have only been relayed through intermediaries.
“We have had no direct negotiations with the United States so far,” Baghaei told a press conference, according to the state news 
agency IRNA. The spokesperson added that Iran did not participate in any recent meetings organized by Pakistan with regional countries, saying they take the form of a framework not agreed upon by Iran.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out putting British troops on the ground in Iran, as he insisted the UK will not be “dragged in” to Donald Trump’s escalating war in the region.
“This is not our war and we’re not going to get drawn into it,” he said, adding the UK will continue to take defensive action and work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“What we have done is taken defensive action: so we’ve had our pilots up in the air since an hour or two after this war started, defending British lives, British interests and, of course, our allies in the region.”
A fire broke out at the Bazan oil refinery in Haifa on Monday after a missile barrage from Iran and Lebanon hit northern Israel, local media reported.
Footage aired by Channel 12 showed smoke rising from the refinery, but it was not clear if the refinery was directly hit by a missile or it was hit by shrapnel from an interception.
No casualties were reported. The channel also reported damage in nearby areas from the barrages, including Krayot and Shfaram.
Meanwhile, verified pictures show a US command and control aircraft has been destroyed at an air base in Saudi Arabia.
The pictures appear to have been first shared by a Facebook page carrying US military news. They show the E-3 Sentry aircraft appears to have been split in two.

We've confirmed the photos were taken at the Prince Sultan air base about 100km (62 miles) south-east of the Saudi capital Riyadh. Features seen in the pictures, including pylons, storage units and markings on paved areas, matched with satellite imagery.
US Central Command has not yet publicly commented on the incident. The BBC has asked for comment.
On Friday a US official told Reuters that 12 US personnel had been wounded, two of them seriously, in an Iranian military attack on the air base. The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported that at least two US refuelling aircraft were also damaged.
On Sunday Iran's IRGC-linked Fars news agency said a Shahed drone had struck the E-3 aircraft.
BBC Verify has also seen an E-3 in this location in a satellite image captured on 11 March. We cannot say if they are the same aircraft.
In one of the verified pictures the aircraft's tail number is visible. Using this we checked flight-tracking site Flightradar24 which showed it was airborne near the base on 18 March.
Oil prices extended gains on Monday, with Brent headed for a record monthly rise, after Yemeni Houthis launched their first attacks on Israel over the weekend, widening the US-Israel war with Iran in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures jumped $2.43, or 2.16%, to $115 a barrel by 0342 GMT after settling 4.2% higher on Friday.
US West Texas Intermediate was at $101.50 a barrel, up $1.86, or 1.87%, following a 5.5% gain in the previous session.
At least 281 students and teachers have been killed in US-Israeli attacks on Iran since last month, an Iranian official said Sunday.
The toll included 222 students, four preschool children, 48 teachers, and seven retired education staff, Hossein Sadeghi, head of the Information and Public Relations Center at the Education Ministry, told the state news agency IRNA.
He added that 185 students and education personnel have also been injured in the US-Israeli assault.
Sadeghi said the attacks have damaged 789 administrative, cultural, and educational facilities, including 700 schools, 40 administrative buildings, 30 sports facilities, five student camps, and 14 cultural and educational centers.
Israeli army on Monday said struck Tehran university run by Iran Guards. 
Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, a step beyond its previous denial of use of jointly-operated military bases, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Monday.
"We don't authorize either the use of military bases or the use of airspace for actions related to the war in Iran," she told reporters in Madrid.
In a message posted on his X account on Sunday evening amid the ongoing US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran, Pezeshkian referenced reported “No Kings” protests in the United States, arguing that segments of the American public are increasingly frustrated with external influence over US decision-making. 

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He also called on American artificial intelligence experts to help convey these domestic realities to President Trump, framing the protests as a sign of deepening dissatisfaction within US society.
“AI experts in the United States should make President Trump aware of the reality of people in his country participating in the ‘No Kings’ protests. The American people are angry about ‘Israel First’,” the Iranian president said.
“They are tired of Israeli kings ruling over American democracy,” Pezeshkian added. 

 

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