Trump threatens ‘Death, Fire and Fury’ if Iran cuts off oil through the Strait of Hormuz – live updates

US President Donald Trump reiterated his threat against Iran if it were to cut off the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz with a post to his Truth Social page Monday night.

‘If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,’ he warned.

‘Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back,’ Trump said, adding that ‘Death, Fire and Fury will reign upon them.’

‘But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen,’ Trump wrote.

The president then went on to call his warning ‘a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait.’

‘Hopefully, it is a gesture that will be greatly appreciated,’ he added, ominously.

The US-Israel war with Iran has entered its tenth day with mayhem continuing across the Middle East since the fighting began last month.

If you’re just joining us, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a plan to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help oil and gas supplies flow through the passage once again.

The US Navy has reportedly attacked an Iranian warship and two other vessels in the Persian Gulf.

Meanwhile, oil prices are surging worldwide as global markets slid today and Donald Trump has declared he and Benjamin Netanyahu will make a ‘mutual’ decision on when to end the war.

Here are the key developments on Monday afternoon.

• France has announced plans to deploy eight warships to the Middle East in a ‘purely defensive’ mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
• An Iranian warship and two other vessels have reportedly been attacked by the US Navy during airstrikes on the port city of Bandar Abbas
• NATO have shot down a second Iranian missile in Turkish airspace
• Oil prices rise to above $100 a barrel for first time in four years as global markets slid at the start of trading
• Donald Trump says he and Benjamin Netanyahu will make ‘mutual’ decision on when to end Iran war
• Vladimir Putin offers ‘unwavering support’ to Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
• Bahrain’s only oil refinery has been struck by an Iranian missile as Tehran targets energy installations across the Gulf
• The UAE confirmed two members of its armed forces were killed in a helicopter crash when the aircraft malfunctioned during the defence against Iranian drones
• Pete Hegseth, the US Defense Secretary, last night guaranteed Iran will ‘surrender’ and President Donald Trump will set the terms of their defeat
• Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, was selected by the country’s Assembly of Experts to succeed his father
• Iranian state television has reported Khamenei is ‘wounded’ but did not elaborate on how the injuries were caused
• The US has identified the seventh solider killed during Operation Epic Fury

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and California Governor Gavin Newsom have addressed the war in Iran as they tried to woo voters in New Hampshire ahead of the 2028 election.

‘If a president is going to take a country into war, and risk the lives of American troops and Americans in the region, he has to have a real justification and not one that seems to change every five to 10 hours,’ Beshear told CBS News after a Democratic fundraiser in Keene.

‘This president seems to use force before ever trying diplomacy, and he has a duty to sell it to the American people and to address Congress with it,’ Beshear continued.

‘He hasn’t done any of that. In fact, it appears there isn’t even a plan for what success looks like. He’s gone from regime change to strategic objectives and now is talking about unconditional surrender, which isn’t realistic where he is.’

Beshear also said he thought that Congress should have reined in Trump’s war powers.

‘He is trying to ignore Congress. He’s trying to even ignore the American people,’ the Kentucky governor said.

Newsom, meanwhile, recently held a book tour event in Portsmouth, when he addressed the issue.

‘I’m very angry about this war, with all due respect, you know, not because I’m angry the supreme leader is dead. Quite the contrary. I’m not naive about the last 37 years of his reign. Forty-seven years since ’79 the revolution,’ the California Democrat said.

‘But I’m also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of why? Why now? What’s the endgame?’

New Hampshire will be the first state in the country to hold primary elections for the parties to select their presidential candidate ahead of the 2028 election.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday that he cannot stop US forces inside the country from redeploying some weapons, after reports emerged that some US Patriot missile defense systems were being sent to aid forces in the Middle East.

‘It appears that there is controversy recently over US Forces in Korea shipping some weapons, such as artillery batteries and air-defense weapons, out of the country,’ Lee said at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, without confirming whether the missile defense systems were redeployed.

‘We are voicing our opposition to the USFK shipping some of its air defense weapons according to their military needs as the situation unfolds, but it is also a clear reality that we cannot fully carry through our opinion.’

The president added that the removal of some US weapons from the country ‘does not hinder [our] deterrence strategy towards North Korea.’

UNICEF announced on Monday that nearly 700,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon since the war began in the Middle East last week, including about 200,000 children.

It also said that since March 2, at least 83 children have been killed and 254 wounded in the country.

‘On average, more than 10 children have been killed every day across Lebanon over the past week,withapproximately36childreninjured each day,’ the agency said in a statement.

‘UNICEF calls on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and shelters, and to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law,’ it continued.

‘UNICEF urges immediate efforts to de-escalate the situation and prevent further harm to children.’

US Central Command vowed on Monday night to ‘take out’ Iran’s missile launchers, wherever they may be hiding.

It shared a video of a strike on a launcher underneath a bridge, another that seemed to be hidden in a cave and a third that was obstructed by trees.

The Iranian military goaded the United States to take action in the Strait of Hormuz in a statement early Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini, a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp, said the country’s armed forces are ‘awaiting the US naval fleet in the Strait of Hormuz’ and argued that the end of the war ‘is in Iran’s hands.’

‘The armed forces of the Republic of Iran are awaiting the US naval fleet in the Strait of Hormuz region and are waiting for the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford,’ Naeni said, according to state media.

He added that US President Donald Trump ‘has claimed the presence of commercial and military ships in the region and their easy passage through the Strait of Hormuz; while American ships, vessels, and all fighter jets have fled the region and are stationed at a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers to avoid Irans powerful missiles and drones.’

Amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday that the US is declaring Afghanistan a ‘state sponsor of wrongful detention.’

‘The Taliban continue to use terrorist tactics to seek policy concessions, but itwontwork under this administration,’ he posted on X, demanding the release of Americans held in the country.

Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth were seen saluting as US soldiers unloaded the coffin of the seventh American soldier who was killed since the war began.

Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday after sustaining an attack on March 1 at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Syria’s military has blamed Hezbollah on an attack that saw artillery shells landing about 20 miles west of Damascus, the capital.

It accused the terrorist group of targeting Syrian army positions in the area, and said military officials have observed Hezbollah reinforcements arriving along the Syrian-Lebanese border.

The Syrian army added that it was closely monitoring the developments, and warned that it would respond to any attack on its territory.

Iran is finalizing plans to impose ‘security duties’ on oil tankers and commercial ships that belong to countries allied with the US, an Iranian source with knowledge of the leaderships strategy told CNN.

The source insisted that the Strait of Hormuz is ‘closed’ despite US President Donald Trump’s claims that it is open.

‘We hold the screw of the global oil price in our hands and for a long time the US will have to wait for our actions to control the price. Energy prices have become unstable and we will continue to fight until Trump declares defeat,’ the source said.

Some Democrats in the US Senate have started to threaten to impede the branch’s work unless the Trump administration agrees to provide public hearings on the war in Iran.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said Democrats were going to ‘use every lever that we have to stop business as usual’ unless there is an agreement from the Trump administration to hold public hearings.

A group of Democratic senators have already filed legislation trying to limit the president’s ability to seek war in Iran after a war powers resolution failed last week.

Democrats could also potentially force repeated votes on the votes if they choose.