The American military searched for a second day for a pilot shot down over a remote area in Iran, while U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday again threatened Tehran over his Monday deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz: “Time is running out."
The U.S. warplane, identified by Iran as a F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday. Iran has promised a reward for whoever turns in the “enemy pilot.” Iran's joint military command on Saturday said that it also struck two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters on Friday, but The Associated Press couldn't independently verify that.
The war, now in its sixth week, began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. It shows no signs of slowing as Iran responds with attacks across the region.
“We will continue to crush them,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday. Israel's military confirmed that it struck a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr that Netanyahu said helps to fund the war, along with air defense systems and ballistic missile production sites.
Trump said in a national address on Wednesday that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran.” But on Saturday, an apparent Iranian drone damaged the headquarters of U.S. technology company Oracle in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Both sides have threatened, and hit, civilian targets and infrastructure, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that an airstrike hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building. The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, said that 198 workers were being evacuated. It was the fourth time the facility was targeted.
Hopes for talks
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told the AP that his government’s efforts to broker a ceasefire are “right on track.” Last week, Pakistan said that it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said that they “have never refused to go to Islamabad.”
Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt are working to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials. They said that they were working on bridging the gap between the two sides' demands to stop the war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
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.
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But Trump reminded Iran of his deadline in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social,
“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 said.
