President Donald Trump has asserted that the people of Iran are in favor of U.S. military intervention in their country. This bold statement was part of his threat to target and destroy “every power plant,” amid the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route, has faced significant disruption since conflict erupted on February 28. Iran has pledged to prevent “enemy” vessels from navigating through this pivotal passage.

In recent days, the President has issued a series of warnings aimed at pressuring the Iranian government to negotiate reopening the vital trade corridor by the deadline of Tuesday evening.

“If they refuse to cooperate and continue to keep the strait closed, they will face the destruction of every power plant and facility throughout the country,” Trump declared in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday.

He further warned, “Without action by Tuesday evening, Iran will find itself without any functioning power plants or standing bridges.”

Trump was then asked if he was concerned whether Iran’s 93 million citizens would suffer if the power plants and bridges were struck. 

‘No, they want us to do it,’ Trump argued, adding that Iranians were ‘living in hell.’

He then claimed that the Iranian people are scared to protest in public and risk being killed by the regime.

‘The only reason they’re not on the street is they’ve killed 45,000 people,’ Trump said of the Iranian regime. ‘When they go in the street, they get shot.’ 

President Donald Trump argued on Sunday that the Iranian people want the US to unleash its military power on the country

He said Iranians are afraid to take to the streets to protest the regime out of fear they would be shot. Women holding Iranian flags are seen at a pro-government gathering in Tehran on Sunday

Trump had earlier threatened to attack Iranian bridges and power plants in a bizarre Easter message

The president’s threat came just hours after he told Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst he was ‘considering blowing everything up and taking control of the oil.’

He had also threatened to attack Iranian bridges and power plants in a bizarre Easter message earlier on Sunday.

‘There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b*****ds, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.’ 

The president previously said in his address to the American people last week that he planned to hit Iran hard over the next two to three weeks.

Days later, US-Israeli airstrikes destroyed Iran’s tallest bridge, killing eight people. 

The B1 bridge, which links Iran’s capital with the western city of Karaj, was targeted in two waves of strikes on Thursday after Trump said he would bomb Tehran ‘back to the Stone Age’. 

The second attack on the nearly 450-foot structure took place while rescue forces were at the scene helping at least 95 injured people, Iranian state media claimed. 

Amid Trump’s threats, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf urged the US president to further escalate the war.

‘Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living hell for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn,’ he wrote on social media. 

Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri, the Iranian culture minister, also branded Trump an ‘unstable, delusional figure’.

But after a US airman was left in hiding for nearly two days, administration officials said the president has become more eager to apply even more pressure on the Iranians. 

US-Israeli air strikes destroyed Iran’s tallest bridge, killing eight people

Iranian state media released images of a search and rescue plane, which it claimed it shot down, though the US military says it ‘blew [them] up’ themselves

Pictured: The ejected seat from the US aircraft as published in Iranian media  

The airman, alongside a pilot, had been in an F-15 fighter jet, which was shot down over a remote area of Iran on Friday. 

The pilot had safely ejected and was rescued by two military helicopters the same day, but the second crew member, a highly-respected colonel, had remained missing.

He was then forced to evade pursuing Iranians for almost two days while Reaper drones overhead protected him from danger.

Armed with only a handgun to protect him and injured from his ejection from the F-15, the colonel hid from danger before making a daring dash to the rescue site as hundreds of special forces personnel searched the area for him in a complex rescue mission. 

It involved deceiving Iranian forces by having the CIA spread word that US forces already found the colonel, as he continued to hide in the mountains, reaching elevations of around 7,000 feet.

At the same time, Iranian forces put a $60,000 bounty on the pilot’s ‘head’, as they urged locals near the crash site to seize the American.

But US warplanes fired bombs and weapons to keep the Iranians away, as soldiers scoured the area for the missing pilot.

As US forces closed in on the stranded officer, a firefight broke out with Iranian troops.

When they made the extraction, two of the five rescue planes became stuck in a remote airfield inside Iran and were blown up by special forces to avoid being captured by the enemy. 

Three rescue planes flew out of Iran to Kuwait, and the mission was completed just before midnight.

Trump touted the operation late Saturday night as ‘one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US History’.

He said this was the first time in military memory that two US Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in ‘Enemy Territory’, as he defiantly said that no American warfighter would ever be left behind.

He said dozens of aircraft armed with ‘the most lethal weapons in the World’ were sent by the US military to retrieve him.

‘This brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,’ Trump added in a Truth Social post.

He added that both operations were concluded ‘without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded’.

Iranian media reported five people were killed in strikes during the US rescue operation.

After years of eluding justice, a man dubbed the “Rideshare Rapist” is now set to spend his life in prison. He was convicted for a series of chilling abductions and sexual assaults in San Francisco.

Orlando Vilchez Lazo, aged 44, faced conviction on 11 felony charges, which included four counts of rape by force or fear and kidnapping with the intent to commit rape, as announced by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Vilchez Lazo preyed on women in their early 20s, targeting them as they waited for rides outside nightclubs in San Francisco’s lively SoMa and Mission areas.

The conviction means Vilchez Lazo could receive an overwhelming sentence of 100 years to life behind bars, ensuring he remains imprisoned for the remainder of his life.

The series of horrific crimes initiated in 2013 when Vilchez Lazo picked up a young woman in the Mission District, drove her to a secluded industrial zone, and assaulted her. Though the case went unsolved for years, the victim’s bravery in undergoing a forensic exam provided crucial DNA evidence that eventually led to his capture.

Vilchez Lazo re-emerged in 2018, claiming three additional victims from February to June that year. In one particularly distressing episode, he deceived a woman’s friend into exiting the vehicle before quickly driving away with the victim.

“This can be easy or this can be violent,” the sicko told one victim as he held a metal object to her throat, according to prosecutors.

Another victim thought she was safe when Vilchez Lazo pulled up to Howard and Second streets shouting “Uber, Uber.” Instead, she was driven to a secluded spot and attacked with a sharp object. In a desperate bid for survival, the woman managed to escape — despite the brute dragging her back in multiple times — and ran through the streets until she found a resident to help her.

The jig was finally up in July 2018 when a dedicated task force tracked Vilchez Lazo down in San Mateo County.

The trial was plagued by years of delays and desperate attempts by the defense to toss out DNA evidence.

“Let this conviction serve as a reminder to those who think they can outrun justice,” DA Jenkins said in a statement.

TEMECULA, Calif. — Actress Tori Spelling was involved in a two-car collision on Thursday evening in Temecula, California, as confirmed by officials familiar with the situation to ABC News.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office reported that the incident occurred around 5:44 p.m. PT. Authorities stated that medical evaluations were conducted for all individuals involved in the crash.

No arrests have been reported, and the cause of the collision is currently under investigation.

The news was first brought to light by TMZ.

According to TMZ, the “Beverly Hills 90210” star, along with seven children — a mix of her own kids and their friends — were taken to the hospital. Their injuries were mostly minor, including cuts and bruises, and they were transported using multiple ambulances.

ABC News has reached out to Spelling’s representative for comment, but did not hear back immediately.

Spelling is the mother of five children, Liam, Stella, Hattie, Finn and Beau, whom she shares with ex-husband Dean McDermott.

The couple married in 2006 and later starred in the reality series “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood,” which aired from 2007 to 2012.

According to a divorce petition, the couple separated in June 2023.