As U.S. President Donald Trump sent a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran demanding that it open the Strait of Hormuz, Israel said it has completed preparations to strike key energy facilities in Iran as soon as the United States gives approval.
On the 4th (local time), according to a compilation of Reuters reports, a senior Israeli defense official said, "We have completed preparations to attack Iran's energy facilities and are waiting for U.S. approval within a week."
Trump also sent a strong ultimatum to Iran again on the social media platform Truth Social the same day. He said, "Remember that I gave Iran ten days to negotiate or open the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "Now there is little time left, and in 48 hours all calamities will befall them." Trump has been pursuing a carrot-and-stick approach, threatening to turn Iran back to the Stone Age while seeking negotiations.
Experts predicted that this 48-hour ultimatum will be the biggest watershed in the Middle East war. Major think tanks including the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) warned that if the United States and Israel strike Iran's core energy infrastructure, international oil prices could spiral out of control. Reuters analyzed, "The fate of the missing pilot and the president's decision in the coming days will determine the course of the war."
On the 3rd, a U.S. F-15E fighter jet was shot down in Iranian airspace. One pilot was rescued, but the other remains missing. A U.S. military official said two Black Hawk helicopters deployed for the search also came under Iranian attack but escaped safely. In addition, as the war drags on, U.S. casualties are occurring frequently, including an A-10 attack aircraft being hit over Kuwait and crashing.
That day, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boasted of its results, saying it "shot down U.S. fighter jets, drones, and cruise missiles using a new air defense system." Iranian state TV reported that, in retaliation for attacks on Iran's industrial zones, it struck a U.S.-affiliated aluminum plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a U.S. military headquarters in Kuwait with drones.
As the war enters its sixth week, the ripple effects on the global economy are growing. Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, deepening the energy crisis. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left the door open to peace talks mediated by Pakistan but made clear there is no intention to yield to Trump's demands, saying, "The conditions we want are to end the illegal war forced upon us."
In the United States, fatigue over the prolonged war is spreading. According to opinion poll results cited by Reuters, public-sector support for the war in the United States is at a low level.