US and Iran trade threats as deadline looms

US President Donald Trump has made new threats to escalate strikes in Iran, a day after US forces pulled off a dramatic rescue of an aviator whose plane fell behind enemy lines after Iran had downed it days earlier.

Iran showed no signs of backing down on Sunday, striking economic and infrastructure targets in neighbouring Gulf Arab countries even as Trump demanded Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

In an expletive-laden post on Sunday morning (Sunday night AEDT), Trump expanded upon earlier threats, promising strikes on Iran's power plants and bridges.

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran," he said.

"There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F---in' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah."

The US airman's extraction followed a search-and-rescue operation after the Friday crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, as Iran also promised a reward for anyone who turned in an "enemy pilot".T rump said the servicemember was injured but in stable condition.

A second crew member was rescued earlier.

The fighter jet was the first American aircraft to have crashed in Iranian territory since the US and Israel launched the war, striking Iran on February 28.

Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes. The war has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices.

As Iran continues to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz, Trump, in an earlier social media post, threatened to unleash "all Hell" if it wasn't opened by Monday.

He has issued such threats before and extended them when mediators have claimed progress towards ending the war on agreeable terms.

Iran threatens more retaliation

The threats came after Trump said last week that the US had "decimated" Iran and would finish the war "very fast". Two days later, Iran shot down two US military planes, showing the ongoing perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of a degraded Iranian military to continue to hit back.

The other jet to go down was a US A-10 attack aircraft. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it crashed was immediately known.

On Sunday, Iran's state TV aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of American aircraft shot down by Iranian forces, along with a photo of thick, black smoke rising into the air. The broadcaster said Iran had shot down an American transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation.

However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told The Associated Press that the US military blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing it to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.

Iran's military joint command on Sunday claimed that four US aircraft were destroyed during the rescue operation and warned of stepping up retaliatory attacks on regional oil and civilian infrastructure if the US and Israel attacked such targets in the Islamic Republic, according to state television.

"We once again repeat: if you commit aggression again and strike civilian facilities, our responses will be more forceful," a spokesman said in comments run by IRNA news agency.

READ MORE: Iran's chilling threat that could further derail global economy

Drones hit Gulf energy infrastructure

In Kuwait, an Iranian drone attack caused significant damage to two power plants and put a water desalination station out of service, according to the Ministry of Electricity.

No injuries were reported from the attack, the ministry said.

In Bahrain, the national oil company said that a drone attack caused a fire at one of its storage facilities, which was extinguished.

It said the damage was still being assessed and no injuries had been reported.

The war began with joint US-Israel strikes on February 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices.

Both sides have threatened, and hit, civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.

READ MORE: Grocery prices expected to climb as shops pass on cost of war

Trump renews threat

Trump renewed his threats for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy shipments that has been choked off by Tehran, by Monday or face devastating consequences

“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them," he wrote on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) in a social media post

“The doors of hell will be opened to you” if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi with the country’s joint military command said in response to Trump’s renewed threat, state media reported.

READ MORE: Fuel restocked but farmers 'running on empty' leaders warn

In turn, the general threatened all infrastructure used by the US military in the region.

But Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told The Associated Press that his government’s efforts to broker a ceasefire are “right on track” after Islamabad last week said that it would soon host talks between the US and Iran.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said that Iranian officials “have never refused to go to Islamabad".

Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt were working to bring the US and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials.

The proposed compromise includes a cessation of hostilities to allow a diplomatic settlement, according to a regional official involved in the efforts and a Gulf diplomat briefed on the matter.

They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.

READ MORE: European ministers call for profit caps on energy companies

Iran threatens to disrupt traffic in second key strait

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued a veiled threat late on Friday (Saturday AEDT) to disrupt traffic through a second strategic waterway in the region, the Bab el-Mandeb.

The strait, 32 kilometres wide, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. More than a 10th of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships pass through it.

“Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?” Qalibaf wrote.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 US service members have been killed.

In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than a million people have been displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.

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