Iranian commander vows "devastating, continuous" retaliatio

TEHRAN, April 4 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian commander warned that any U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran's infrastructure would be met with "devastating and continuous" attacks on all U.S. military assets in West Asia and Israeli infrastructure, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Ali Abdollahi, chief commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued the warning Saturday as a 10-day deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz is due to expire Monday.

"After having admitted successive defeats, the aggressive and warmongering president of the United States has, in a desperate, nervous, unbalanced and foolish move, threatened (to target) Iran's infrastructure and national assets," Abdollahi said.

He said the Iranian armed forces would not hesitate "for a moment" to defend the country's rights and protect national assets and "will put the aggressors in their place."

In a post Saturday on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT," adding, "Time is running out -- 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them."

On March 21, Trump threatened to "hit and obliterate" Iranian power plants if the country failed to fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. Two days later, however, he postponed strikes on power plants for five days after holding "productive conversations" with Tehran. He later pushed the deadline back again.

The developments come amid heightened regional tensions following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting Feb. 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and U.S. interests across the Middle East.