Panoramic view of Tehran with smoke visible in the distance after an explosion was reported in the city, March 2, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.
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“The new leadership knows what has to be done and it has to be done quickly,” US President Donald Trump said on Thursday, threatening to destroy bridges and power plants in Iran. In a post by Truth Social.
Trump did not elaborate on “what needs to be done,” but said the United States “hasn’t even begun to destroy what’s left of Iran.”
Hours later, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that a US F-35 fighter jet had been shot down over central Iran. Images of the debris posted on Telegram included a photo that appeared to show the words “U.S. Air Forces in Europe” on what appeared to be the tail section of the plane.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees the region, and Iranian authorities did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.
President Trump’s latest threat came a day after he delivered a national address in which he said the U.S. military would attack Iran “very hard” over the next two to three weeks. He added that the United States would “return them to their original Stone Age status.”
Hours after the speech, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took a defiant stance against X, referring to President Trump’s Stone Age comment and saying, “At that time, there was no oil or gas being pumped in the Middle East.”
“Are we sure that the president and the Americans who put him in office want to turn back the clock?” Araguchi said.
Iran effectively cut off tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil route, after the United States and Israel attacked it on February 28.
The threat of the “Stone Age”
As the war enters its second month and the U.S. military buildup in the Middle East shows no signs of slowing, President Trump has repeatedly threatened to return Iran to the “Stone Age.”
Despite reports of overtures from the United States, including a ceasefire and a 15-point peace plan to end the war, Iran has repeatedly publicly denied reports of negotiations with the Trump administration.
Al Jazeera reported on March 25, citing a senior diplomatic source, that the Iranian government called the 15-point proposal “extremely extremist and irrational.”
President Trump said on Wednesday that Iran’s “new president” had asked Washington for a ceasefire, a claim denied by Tehran. President Trump has not revealed who the “president” is.
“We will consider when the Strait of Hormuz will be open, free and transparent. Until then, we will blow Iran into oblivion or as the saying goes, back to the Stone Age!!!,” he wrote.
Legal experts said the attack on the power plant could constitute a war crime and violate international law.
In a letter dated Thursday and signed by more than 100 legal experts, the group said international law prohibits attacks on “items essential to the survival of civilian populations” and that the attacks threatened by President Trump could constitute war crimes if carried out.
President Trump has previously said that Iran’s desalination facilities could be targeted.
China, Russia and France exercise veto power
The Gulf Cooperation Council on Thursday called on the U.N. Security Council to take “all necessary measures to ensure an immediate cessation of Iranian aggression against its members.”
Six Gulf Cooperation Council countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – are under attack from Iranian missiles and drones as the war enters its second month.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced that its Mina Al Ahmadi refinery was attacked by a drone early Friday morning.
Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jassim al-Budawi said the organization does not want war, but that Iran had “crossed all the red lines that should not be crossed” and called Tehran’s attack “treacherous”.
Bahrain, which currently holds the rotating chair of the Security Council, is leading efforts to pass a UN resolution authorizing “all necessary measures” to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the proposal reportedly stalled due to opposition from China, Russia, and France, members of the Security Council who wield veto power over resolutions authorizing military action against Iran.
