President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States was in talks with a "more reasonable regime" to end the war in Iran but repeated his warning to Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or risk US attacks on its oil wells and power plants.
"Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by... obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island," Trump wrote in a social media post.
Trump also threatened to attack the desalination plants that supply clean water in Iran.
The US president said last week he would pause attacks on Iran's energy plants for 10 days, which would be until April 6, US time.
While Trump has said the US and Iran are making progress in talks, he has also been sending more US troops to the region, leading Iran's parliament speaker to accuse Washington of sending messages about possible negotiations while planning a ground invasion, prompting more defiance from Tehran.
Iranian leaders have denied being in direct talks with the US.
Iran described US proposals to end a month of war in the Middle East as "unrealistic, illogical and excessive" on Monday and unleashed more missiles on Israel, as oil prices rose further after Yemen's Houthis entered the conflict.
An Israeli air strike has killed at least three people in the Gaza Strip on Monday, local health officials said, in the latest round of violence since a US-brokered ceasefire took effect more than five months ago.
ഇറാനിയൻ ആക്രമണത്തിൽ ഒരു തൊഴിലാളി കൊല്ലപ്പെടുകയും വൈദ്യുതി, ജലശുദ്ധീകരണ പ്ലാന്റിലെ ഒരു സർവീസ് കെട്ടിടത്തിന് കേടുപാടുകൾ സംഭവിക്കുകയും ചെയ്തതായി കുവൈറ്റിലെ വൈദ്യുതി, ജല, പുനരുപയോഗ ഊർജ്ജ മന്ത്രാലയം ഞായറാഴ്ച അറിയിച്ചു.
Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, a step beyond its previous denial of use of jointly-operated military bases, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Monday, citing military sources.