Clock ticks on Trump's 48-hour deadline as US and Iran race to find missing pilot

Clock ticks on Trump's 48-hour deadline as US and Iran race to find missing pilot

Donald Trump has threatened "all hell will reign down" on Iran if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, as the US races to find its missing pilot.

The US President extended his initial 48-hour deadline for Iran to either strike a deal or reopen the critical waterway late last month.

Now with less than 48 hours on the clock, he warned that "time is running out". 

READ MORE: European ministers call for profit caps on energy companiesDonald Trump vowed to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age.

"Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT," the president said in a Truth Social post.

"Time is running out - 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD! President DONALD J. TRUMP."

Iran has responded with a threat of its own, warning the US it will return "hell".

"Do not forget that if aggression expands the entire region will turn into a hell for you," a spokesperson for the Iranian military's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said.

"The illusion of defeating the Islamic Republic of Iran has turned into a swamp in which you will sink."

Iran is showing no signs of yielding to Trump's deadlines, raising questions about how the US will respond if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened within 48 hours.

READ MORE: Fuel restocked but farmers 'running on empty' leaders warnThe US Central Command has released a video of what appears to be its military operations targeting Iran.
The footage shows munitions exploding against a black and white backdrop.

Trump was accused of yet another TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) moment when he backed down from his initial 48-hour deadline.

When the countdown reached its final hours, the president announced he would extend it another five days after the countries had a "very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East".

Top Iranian politician Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf later denied that negotiations had been held and said the "fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped".

As the deadline looms, the US and Iran are racing against another ticking clock to find an American airman missing after an F15-E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down by Iran on Friday.

One member of the two-person crew was rescued but the search continues for the second. 

READ MORE: Grocery prices expected to climb as shops pass on cost of warAn F-15E like this one has been shot down over Iran.

It was one of two US military aircraft that went down after being struck by Iran. A single-crew A-10 Warhog was hit and its pilot was later rescued.

US officials have been unusually quiet about the missing airperson.

Speaking to The Independent about whether they could be harmed, Trump said: "We hope that's not going to happen".

Iranian officials have placed a $US60,000 ($87,000) bounty on the member's capture, which would be an incredible coup for the country in its negotiations with the US.

It has been more than 20 years since a US military plane was shot down over enemy soil.

The last time it happened was during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, when an Iraqi missile struck an A-10 Thunderbolt II.

The pilot in that attack ejected safely and was rescued by coalition ground forces.

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