Sawt Falasteen - Iran defiant as deadline looms for Trump threat to infrastructure

The Iranian army reacted defiantly saying Trump's "arrogant rhetoric and baseless threats" would not hinder operations against US and Israeli forces.

Five weeks into the US-Israeli war on Iran, the US leader has demanded that Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz oil conduit to international shipping by midnight GMT on Tuesday or face a newly devastating round of bombing.

"We have a plan...where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again," Trump said, brushing aside accusations that such a move would be a war crime.

"I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it'll happen over a period of four hours -- if we wanted to," Trump said at a press conference during which he also recounted the rescue of the two crew members of a US F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran last week.

Both Trump and Iran said, meanwhile, that a proposal touted by international mediators for a 45-day ceasefire is not yet ready.

Trump had said earlier that the plan, which the US media said is being mediated by Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey, was a "significant proposal," but he later went on to say it was not good enough.

Iranian state media quoted officials as saying that Tehran too "has rejected a ceasefire and insists on the need for a definitive end to the conflict."

The Iranian army's Khatam Al-Anbiya central command, responding to Trump's threats, called him "delusional" and said "crushing operations of the warriors of Islam against the American and Zionist enemies" would continue.

- UN vote on Hormuz -

Also on the diplomatic front, the UN Security Council is set to vote Tuesday on a watered-down resolution addressing Iran's threats to the Strait of Hormuz, diplomatic sources told AFP, after more robust earlier drafts faced potential vetoes.

Iran has imposed an effective blockade on the critical waterway since the United States and Israel launched the war on February 28, sending ripple effects throughout the global economy.

Iran's virtual blockade of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil normally flows, has sent oil and gas prices soaring and pushed countries around the world to enact measures to contain the fallout.

Bahrain, backed by other oil-exporting Gulf countries, launched negotiations two weeks ago on a draft resolution that would have given a clear UN mandate to any state wishing to use force to unblock the strait.

However, objections from several veto-holding permanent members have seen the text watered down and the latest draft seen by AFP does not expressly authorize force.

The United States and Israel have continued striking targets across Iran, and Tehran has responded with missile and drone attacks around the region.

Iranian media said explosions were heard in parts of Tehran and nearby Karaj early Tuesday.

Yemen's Houthi rebels said they launched an attack targeting Israel, supporting their backer Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Israeli air strikes hit major Iranian petrochemical facilities including Asaluyeh on the Gulf coast, the country's biggest, and another outside Shiraz in central Iran.

Israel's military said it also struck Iranian air force targets including planes and helicopters at airports in Tehran and elsewhere.

- Guards intelligence chief killed -

Gulf nations allied with the United States have been sucked into the war, with Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates reporting strikes on Monday.

The Saudi defense ministry said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed seven ballistic missiles launched toward the country's east on Tuesday.

It said debris fell around power facilities and a damage assessment was underway.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards posted on Telegram on Monday that their intelligence chief Majid Khademi had been killed at dawn in US-Israeli strikes.

Israel's military also said it had killed Asghar Bagheri, commander of the Guards' Quds Force special operations unit, on Sunday.

"We will reach anyone who seeks to harm us," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The Guards' Intelligence Organization vowed a "major retaliatory strike" against those responsible for killing their commanders.

Iran has continued to launch attacks at Israel, where the military and medics said four bodies were recovered from a residential building Monday in the northern city of Haifa that was struck by a missile.

D.Qudsi--SF-PST