Trump’s foul-mouthed tirade warning Iran of coming deadline

[0:00] President Trump has issued an extraordinary warning to Iran, threatening to blow up its [0:05] power plants and bridges if it doesn't open up the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline of tomorrow. [0:10] The threat, which was laden with expletives, is being interpreted by some as in breach of [0:15] the rules of international law. Earlier, Mr Trump celebrated the rescue of a US crew member [0:21] who was on board a fighter jet shot down over Iran on Friday. With more, here's Joe Inwood. [0:27] Deep in Iranian territory, the remnants of a mission that Donald Trump has called miraculous. [0:34] The wreckage you can see are US C-130 transport planes, which they say had to be abandoned and [0:40] then destroyed. But they were there to find a US airman, missing since his jet was shot down on [0:46] Friday. In the dead of night, he was successfully rescued, badly injured but alive. We got him, [0:54] President Trump wrote on social media. This is the first time in military memory that two [1:00] US pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in enemy territory. We will never leave [1:05] an American warfighter behind, he wrote. [1:08] The rescue seems to have taken place far further inside Iranian territory than previously suspected. [1:14] The BBC has geolocated the site of the wreckage to here, just 50 kilometres from the major [1:20] city of Isfahan. There had been an operation to find the missing crew underway since Friday, [1:27] when their jet, an F-15E, was shot down. [1:30] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [1:32] Iranian state TV showed these images of the wreckage, but there was no sign of either the [1:39] pilot or the weapons systems officer. This was the message to local people on state TV. [1:45] If you capture an enemy pilot, you will be given a reward, the newsreader says. [1:51] Local people were pictured looking for the downed airman, the equivalent of £50,000 on offer. But [1:58] the US military was searching too, aided by locator beacons. Pictures emerged showing [2:04] a combat aircraft that had been shot down. [2:04] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:04] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:04] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:04] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:04] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:04] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:04] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:04] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:05] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:06] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:06] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:06] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:06] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:06] BINAN DEGONE AZIZ [2:06] But that only recovered the pilot. [2:09] If Iran could capture the other airman, who we now know was a high-ranking officer, a colonel, [2:14] it would have been a propaganda coup. [2:16] But he seems to have been rescued at the expense of multiple aircraft. [2:23] That led Iran's military spokesman to say the U.S. operation had been a failure, [2:28] claiming they had destroyed the aircraft. [2:32] However dramatic, today's rescue is a distraction from the more serious [2:35] and ongoing issue of actually ending this war. [2:39] Iran, still being bombed, is selectively but effectively blockading the Strait of Hormuz. [2:45] That was the subject of an extraordinary, expletive-laden message from the president, [2:50] who wrote, [2:51] Tuesday will be power plant day and bridge day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. [2:56] There will be nothing like it. [2:58] Open the f***ing strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell. [3:03] Just watch. Praise be to Allah. [3:05] Last week. [3:07] U.S. strikes destroyed the newly built B1 bridge, a vital crossing near the capital. [3:13] A vast number of Iranian industrial sites have been hit, doing lasting damage to the economy. [3:19] Donald Trump is promising worse still. [3:22] He has given Iran until Tuesday to respond, or has threatened, in his words, to rain hell upon them. [3:29] Joe, it is amazing, isn't it, that we can't fully broadcast the president's statement [3:34] because of such foul language, along with this very controversial threat. [3:38] Yeah. [3:39] I think it's probably important that we don't get carried away, [3:41] although it's understandable why people will do, about the foul language. [3:44] It is remarkable. [3:46] But really, I think what we need to be focusing on here is the threat that is contained within it. [3:50] He's talking about destroying the power plants, destroying the bridges of Iran, [3:54] not for some military purpose, but as a negotiating tactic. [3:58] And there are many, many people, including the head of Amnesty International, [4:01] who have come out and said that would be a war crime. [4:04] This is not destroying something for a military objective, but it's destroying it as a sort of punishment, [4:08] beating for the society. [4:10] And if he follows through with that, there is a dangerous, dangerous Rubicon being crossed. [4:15] And Joe, meanwhile, another deadline looms for Iran, reprisals on Tuesday, according to President Trump. [4:22] What are they likely to make of that? [4:24] So, the response from the Iranians has, shall we say, not been to take this that seriously. [4:28] They've essentially come out and said, if you do this to us, we will do something back to you. [4:33] But essentially saying that Donald Trump is making dangerous escalations. [4:36] Implicit in that, maybe, is they think he won't go through with it. [4:39] Or maybe they think he will do, but they will respond as well. [4:43] And the Iranians will see themselves as having ways to respond, [4:46] not by targeting the Americans directly, necessarily, but by targeting their Gulf allies, desalination plants. [4:52] If Donald Trump goes through with this threat, and if the Iranians respond in a way that they probably are still capable of doing, [4:58] we will be entering a very, very dangerous phase in this war, [5:01] and one that will have consequences for the entire region, maybe for generations to come. [5:06] Joe, thank you. Joe Inwood there. [5:08] Well, despite President Trump's abusive threats, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed by Iran. [5:15] That's having a major impact on the global economy, [5:18] as it's a vital corridor for oil, gas, and a huge range of other materials, [5:22] some of them critical for food production and medicine. [5:25] All are gearing reports now from off the coast of Oman, near the entrance to the strait, [5:30] where many cargo vessels have been stuck since the war broke out. [5:34] This area looks calm and peaceful, but in effect, [5:41] we are at the edge of a battlefield in the war in Iran. [5:46] Up ahead, there are cargo ships at anchor. [5:49] They're at the edge of the Strait of Hormuz. [5:52] Now, this critical artery is normally used for 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas. [6:01] Well, not anymore. [6:03] Since the war began, Iran has put a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz. [6:09] Only five or six ships left. [6:11] Ships are being allowed through every day, in contrast to about 130 before the war. [6:17] This waterway is now a weapon in the hands of Tehran, [6:23] perhaps the most powerful weapon they have. [6:26] By leaving ships stranded here, Iran is reducing the global supply of oil, [6:32] it's creating shortages, it's driving up prices, [6:36] it's creating fear among consumers and pressure in the international community. [6:43] We're not as close as we can get. [6:45] There are restrictions imposed by the authorities here in Oman. [6:50] And there are also risks with trying to pass through this strait. [6:55] Ships that are on that waterway can come under attack from Iranian drones and missiles. [7:01] There are concerns, too, about mines in the water. [7:05] And looking out at this exposed area of open sea, [7:12] there's no idea of any kind of force, American or international, [7:17] coming to try to take control of the strait, [7:20] when you can see how difficult, if not impossible, that would be. [7:25] We've been sailing along the coast here for a few hours now, [7:29] and normally at this time of year you would see boats full of tourists [7:34] coming to see the dolphins in the water here. [7:37] They're a popular tourist attraction. [7:40] Well, today we've seen plenty of dolphins, [7:43] but just no tourists. [7:45] There's a dramatic impact, not just on the economy here in Oman, [7:49] but across the Gulf and across the wider region and the world. [7:54] This war is bringing a great deal of economic pain, [7:58] and Iran is hoping it can use that pain to push Donald Trump towards a settlement. [8:05] And that was our senior international correspondent, [8:09] Orla Girin, reporting there from the Strait of Hormuz.