After announcing the successful covert U.S. military rescue of the missing American airman in Iran over the weekend, President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened the country with severe bombardment come Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

Trump said in a social media post that the complex rescue mission included “dozens of aircraft” and that the officer “sustained injuries, but he will be just fine. Moments later, he vowed in a separate expletive-laden Truth Social post, “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—-n’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

Trump later set a deadline of Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET for Iran to reach a deal with the U.S. to end the war. Trump told Fox News in an interview Sunday afternoon, “If they don’t make a deal and fast, I’m considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil.”

The announcement of the rescued airman, whose F-15E fighter jet was shot down in Iran on Friday, capped a tense two days as the U.S. and Iran raced against each other to find the officer alive. A senior administration official with knowledge of the operation who spoke on condition of anonymity told MS NOW that the CIA aided the effort in multiple ways.

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‘Open the f***in’ Strait’: Trump threatens to bomb Iran’s power plants, bridges April 5, 2026 / 07:55

Before the missing weapon systems officer had been located, the CIA launched a deception campaign and spread false accounts inside Iran that U.S. forces had found him and were moving him on the ground and out of the country.

At the same time, the CIA used its capabilities to confirm the location of the missing American. The senior administration official described the effort as the ultimate search for a “needle in a haystack.”

The officer, who was injured, followed his training, hiked away from where he landed and ascended a ridge, according to The New York Times. The American airman then hid in a mountain crevice, the senior administration official told MS NOW.

The CIA shared his exact location with the Defense Department and the White House. Trump ordered a military rescue mission, which the CIA supported by sending real-time information. Axios first reported the CIA’s role in the rescue.

Israeli Prime Minister Prime Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated his American counterpart and war partner in a statement he posted on social media.

“This rescue operation reinforces the sacred principle: no one is left behind,” Netanyahu, who launched attacks on Iran jointly with Trump on Feb. 28, said. “This is a shared value demonstrated time and time again in the history of both our countries.”

The successful rescue of the American airman put the spotlight in Iran back opening the Strait of Hormuz. The Omani foreign ministry said it held a meeting on Sunday with Iranian officials about “possible options for ensuring the smooth flow of transit” through the vital waterway to provide oil to rest of the world.

One crew member of the F-15E was rescued after the aircraft went down in Iran on Friday, two U.S. officials confirmed earlier to MS NOW. The second crew member was declared “DUSTWUN” shortly after, a military designation that stands for “Duty Status-Whereabouts Unknown.”

While searching for the missing F-15E crew member, at least one Blackhawk helicopter was fired on, though a U.S. official said it returned safely to its base.