Trump tells Iran to open Strait of Hormuz in 48 hours or ‘all hell will reign down’
Trump has repeated a demand for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, issuing what he says is a 48-hour deadline.
“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”
Its been in the works longer than Trump was alive. pic.twitter.com/KcDOcylBgs
— Bassbrotherhood (@Bassbrohood) April 4, 2026
Internet blackout in Iran stretches to 36 days
Connectivity watchdog NetBlocks reports that Iran’s internet has now been down for 35 days, a total of 840 hours, as it enters its 36th day.
- US-Israeli attacks have hit two petrochemical plants in southern Iran’s Khuzestan province, and one person has been killed in another strike on the Bushehr nuclear site.
- The UAE today bore the brunt of Iran’s retaliatory attacks on GCC countries, saying it responded to 23 ballistic missiles and 56 drones today.
Previous blog entries:
Trump scolds allies for not joining Strait of Hormuz mission
- European leaders have rejected demands by US President Donald Trump to join military operations to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Germany says it has no intention of joining the US-Israeli war as Europe’s foreign policy chief says EU nations have “no appetite” to send forces to ensure open navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran says it has closed access “to our enemies”.
Trump scolds allies over Strait of Hormuz operation
UAE closes airspace
Trump says Hormuz Strait help ‘on the way’ as allies reject military action
No commitment from South Korea to deploy navy ships to the Middle East
The US-Israeli strategy against Iran is working. Here is why
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz “is open, but closed to our enemies, to those who carried out this cowardly aggression against us and to their allies”.
Check out our comprehensive explainer about which countries’ ships are being allowed to pass through the strait and which nations are reported to be negotiating for safe passage.
Israel Army Says Ground Assault Against Hezbollah Underway in Lebanon
Ihe IDF is on the ground in southern Lebanon right now and says that it is going to carry on with the operation until Hezbollah is disarmed.
Israel says that the point of this incursion and invasion into Lebanese territory is because the Lebanese government is unwilling or unable to disarm Hezbollah, so they are doing it themselves.
Trump Says ‘War Won’t Be Over This Week’,Iran Denies Talks Taking Place; Pentagon Confirms 200 US Casualties
Number of US troops wounded in Iran war surpasses 200 across 7 countries…
The situation unfolding in Iran today is fundamentally different from the wars the world witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan and Iraq, Western military intervention entered societies where powerful Islamist opposition movements already existed. Political Islam was deeply embedded within the opposition structures, and when regimes collapsed, those Islamist groups quickly filled the vacuum of power.
The result was instability, fragmentation, and the continuation of ideological conflicts that prevented the emergence of a stable, secular order.
Iran presents a completely different political landscape.
In Iran, the Islamist movement is not the opposition — it is the regime itself. For 47 years, the Islamic Republic has ruled through religious dogma, repression, and ideological control. The opposition, in contrast, is largely secular, modern, and outward-looking.
Today the Iranian opposition broadly consists of two political currents:
• Royalists, organized around the leadership of Crown Prince — now widely referred to by supporters as King — Reza Pahlavi. This movement is disciplined, cohesive, and built around clear principles: territorial integrity, secular governance, human rights, women’s rights, free elections, and equal citizenship under the law.
• Republican groups, which represent a diverse spectrum of political views but lack a single unified leadership figure capable of mobilizing the entire nation.
At the societal level, Iran is one of the most urbanized and educated societies in the Middle East. After nearly five decades of ideological rule, a large part of the population has become deeply secular in outlook and strongly oriented toward engagement with the West.
Many Iranians do not see the current confrontation as a conventional war. Instead, they view it as a struggle for liberation — an opportunity to finally end the rule of the Islamic Republic and open the door to a modern, democratic, and secular Iran.
Downed US pilot trained to ‘survive, evade, resist and escape’
All crew members in the US Air Force are “trained to survive, evade, resist and escape”, Marina Miron, a postdoctoral researcher at the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London, tells Al Jazeera.