LIVE: Trump threatens to decimate Iran in 4 hours; deadline ends 6.30 am IST tomorrow

US President Trump described the consequences that Iran would face if it didn't reach a deal with the US by his 8 pm Tuesday (6.30 am Wednesday IST) deadline.

“We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night,” Trump said during his Monday news conference.

Power plants in Iran, he continued, would be “burning, exploding and never to be used again”.

Trump refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off limits in the US response.

As reporters spoke on air, Channel 13 TV's evening newscast showed a large digital clock marking down the hours and minutes until Trump's Tuesday night (6.30 am IST Wednesday) deadline.

US President Donald Trump said Monday he's “not at all” concerned about committing possible war crimes as he again threatened to destroy Iran's bridges and power plants if Tehran does not meet his Tuesday 8 pm ET deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, the president refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off-limits.

Iran on Monday rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the conflict.

“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won't be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told AP.

Israel and the United States carried out a wave of attacks on Iran on Monday, killing more than 25 people. Iran responded with missile fire on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbours.

US President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at Pacific allies for not assisting in Iran fight even as he continued to grumble about NATO allies' refusal to get involved in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump faulted NATO allies' hesitance to assist US offensive operations against Iran.

But as he wrapped up his lengthy news conference Monday, he fumed about the lack of support from Pacific allies.

“You know who else didn't help us? South Korea didn't help us,” Trump said.

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to decimate Iran within four hours if it did not agree to a deal by Tuesday night, while brushing aside allegations of possible war crimes in case of attacks on power plants and bridges.

“We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow (Tuesday) night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again, I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it'll happen over a period of four hours, if we wanted to,” Trump told a press conference.

He asked Iran to make a deal with the US and open the Hormuz Strait for free movement of oil by 8 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday.

When asked about allegations of carrying out possible war crimes if the US attacks Iran's bridges and power plants, Trump said: “No, not at all.” Trump insisted that Iranians want him to conduct more strikes and they are “willing to suffer” for freedom. Trump said the US may even help Iran in rebuilding the country if it agreed to a deal.

US President Donald Trump brushed off criticism of his expletive-laden references to causing destruction in Iran if they failed to make a deal to end the war.

“I don’t care about critics,” Trump said Monday to a question on his reference to Iranians as “crazy bastards” “I haven’t heard that,” the US President said to critics calling for his mental health to be examined, should the war continue.

“But if that's the case, you have to have more people like me. Because our country was being ripped off on trade, on everything, for many years until I came along. So, that's the case, you're gonna have to have more people (like me),” he said.

The special operators were part of the teams sent in to retrieve the pilot and weapon systems officer of a downed fighter jet, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.

During a briefing Monday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “Our special operators, pilots and support crews performed with near perfection under fire,” but he stopped short of confirming that US troops set foot on Iranian soil.

Hegseth and Trump have said they haven't ruled out boots on the ground but also repeatedly argued that the conflict was limited in scope.

An Israel-backed armed group in Gaza kidnapped children from a school-turned-shelter on Monday, according to a witness, after which Israel launched an airstrike on the site, health authorities said.

An anti-Hamas Palestinian group called Abu Nusseirah posted on social media that they killed five Hamas fighters at the shelter in Maghazi.

An elderly displaced woman sheltering at the school told the AP that dozens of men stormed the site, clashed with people there and forced kids - including girls - into vehicles. Speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, she said her son was killed in the fighting.

Bodies were taken to al-Aqsa hospital, where health officials said some had been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the school after the clashes. AP footage showed dozens of mourners gathered at the morgue.

Those injured were the weapon systems officer from the US Air Force F-15E fighter jet that was shot down in Iran late last week as well as two aircrewmen from a helicopter that took fire during the initial rescue for the pilot from the downed jet.

That's according to a US official, who spoke to AP on Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.

After rescuing the pilot, the HH-60 Jolly Green II helicopters were “engaged by every single person in Iran who had a small arms weapon, and one of the aircraft, the trailing aircraft, took several hits,” said Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The US and Egypt are pushing Israel not to strike the main Lebanon-Syria border crossing, according to Lebanon's General Security chief, Hassan Choucair.

He those “ongoing contacts” by Washington and Cairo aim to protect and reopen the Masnaa border crossing.

It's been closed since Saturday after Israel warned it could be targeted over alleged weapons smuggling by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Officials in Lebanon and Syria deny that claim, saying vehicles are thoroughly inspected.