Trump threatens to ‘unleash hell’ after Iran said it would target a second major oil route – live updates

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: ‘The president’s preference is always peace. There does not need to be any more death and destruction.

‘But if Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily and will continue to be, president Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before.

She added: ‘President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again. Their last miscalculation cost them their senior leadership, their navy, their air force and their air defence systems.

‘Any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refuses to understand they have already been defeated and refuse to come to a deal.’

Iran has warned it will strike USS Abraham Lincoln, one of the world’s biggest aircraft carriers, if it falls within range of its missiles.

The threat comes after a large-scale missile attack failed to hit the vessel.

Footage has emerged of the moment Iran launched a series of shore-to-sea cruise missiles at the Lincoln carrier, which was deployed to the Middle East to support Operation Epic Fury.

Speaking in the White House yesterday, Donald Trump said: ‘They shot 100 missiles at one of our aircraft carriers, one of the biggest ships in the world, actually. And of 101 missiles shot, every single one of them was knocked down.’

But Iranian Navy commander Shahram Irani warned the warship was under constant surveillance ahead of another possible attack.

‘The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier is under constant Iranian monitoring and will be targeted as soon as it comes within range of missile systems,’ he said, according to the SNN news agency.

Australia has banned visitors from Iran, claiming the ongoing war in the Middle East has increased the risk they would refuse to go home after their short-term visas expire.

For the next six months people travelling on Iranian passports will be barred from visiting Australia for tourism or work, the Home Affairs department said.

‘The conflict in Iran has increased the risk that some temporary visa holders may be unable or unlikely to depart Australia when their visas expire,’ it said in a statement.

Some exceptions would be made on a case-by-case basis, the department added, such as for the parents of Australian citizens.

‘There are many visitor visas which were issued before the conflict in Iran which may not have been issued if they were applied for now’, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.

‘Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who booked a holiday.’

More than 85,000 Australian residents were born in Iran, according to government figures, with vibrant diaspora communities found in major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said an Iranian attack caused a fire to break out in Muharraq Governorate tonight.

While a fire was set, no one was injured, the ministry said.

Russia is working to send a shipment of drones, medicine and food to Iran, the FT reports.

Iranian and Russian officials began discussing delivering the military equipment and amenities just days after the US and Israel began the war in the Middle East.

Deliveries began in early March, and are expected to be completed by the end of the month.

The UAE’s defence ministry said it is ‘currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran’.

It added in a short statement to X: ‘The sounds heard are the result of the Air Defence Systems intercepting missiles and drones’.

Iran says it has arrested 39 people, including 27 its intelligence ministry says are members of two ‘terrorist groups’.

The detained people are accused of attempting to carry out activities against Iran’s national security.

They are alleged to have provided ‘the enemy’ with information about security forces and using social media to create public disorder.

Iranian state media reported officials found improvised explosive devices and bomb-making equipment, as well as guns, ammunition, tear gas and seven Starlink satellite devices.

Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads up US Central Command, said the American military has taken out most of the Iranian regime’s military production facilities.

He said: ‘We hit the 10,000th Iranian target just hours ago. And if you combine what we’ve accomplished with the success of our Israeli ally, together we have struck thousands more, clearly demonstrating that we’re stronger together.

He said the US-Israeli strikes are having ‘tangible effects’, adding: ‘For decades, Iranian warships have roamed regional waters, threatening and harassing global shipping.

‘But those days are over because we’ve now destroyed 92% of the Iranian Navy’s largest vessels.

‘They’re not sailing, and my operational assessment is that they’ve now lost the ability to meaningfully project naval power and influence around the region and around the world’.

‘We have damaged or destroyed over two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone, and naval production facilities and shipyards, and we’re not done yet.

‘We are on a path to completely eliminate Iran’s wider military manufacturing apparatus’.

The head of Uganda’s military said his nation will join the conflict in the Middle East if Israel is at risk of defeat.

Muhoozi Kainerugaba posted on X: ‘We want the war in the Middle East to end now. The world is tired of it. But any talk of destroying or defeating Israel will bring us into the war. On the side of Israel!’