Trump threatens Iran with ground troops as oil prices spike amid Middle East escalation

Seventeen people were dead by Sunday evening in Iran, killed in a fresh round of coordinated American and Israeli airstrikes that struck targets across the country. The bombardment came as oil markets lurched upward and Donald Trump extended a military ultimatum to Tuesday at 8 p.m. Washington time, warning that without an agreement from Tehran—or the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz—he would "let hell rain down" on the Persian Gulf nation and seize control of its oil.

West Texas Intermediate crude opened Sunday trading above $114 per barrel, up nearly 3 percent, while Brent North Sea oil climbed past $111, gains driven entirely by the escalating conflict. Within minutes of market open, WTI had spiked to $115.48, approaching its peak of $119.48 since the American and Israeli offensive against Iran began. The price movements reflected genuine alarm about supply disruption in one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.

Trump, in an interview with The Hill, made clear he had not ruled out sending ground troops into Iran if negotiations failed. Asked directly whether he would exclude a ground invasion, he answered simply: "No." He had initially given Tehran 48 hours to reach a deal or reopen the strait; on Sunday he extended that deadline by a day. His message to Iranian leadership was blunt: intelligent people would make a deal. The implication was clear—failure to do so would be treated as irrationality deserving of military response.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded with its own warning. The naval command announced Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz "will never again be what it was, especially for the United States and Israel," and declared that the Guard was finalizing operational preparations for "the new order in the Persian Gulf" that Iranian authorities had announced. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh countered Trump's threat with a mirror image: if Iranian infrastructure was attacked, Iran would respond "in kind."

The human toll of Sunday's strikes was concentrated in two locations. Thirteen people died when bombs hit two residential buildings in Ghal'eh Mir, a city in Baharestan district, with local authorities still searching through rubble for survivors. In eastern Tehran, four more were killed and seven wounded when residential areas were struck; three houses were completely destroyed and roughly 50 buildings sustained serious damage. The Sharif University campus was also hit, with damage to nearby power infrastructure knocking out electricity across northeast Tehran.

The escalation drew diplomatic responses from powers with their own stakes in regional stability. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone with Russia's Sergei Lavrov, and both called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to political dialogue. Wang emphasized that China had always favored resolving international crises through negotiation rather than force. Lavrov said Russia was "extremely concerned" by the continuing escalation and insisted that military operations must stop immediately so the conflict could return to diplomatic channels—a role he believed the UN Security Council should play.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi acknowledged Sunday that Tokyo was preparing for talks with Tehran despite Trump's deadline, saying her government was making arrangements to speak with Iranian leaders "when appropriate." She also indicated Japan was bracing for a prolonged Middle East conflict and its potential impact on crude oil supplies. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used Sunday to criticize the Israeli Supreme Court for authorizing a left-wing protest against the military offensive in Tel Aviv while restricting Jewish prayer at the Western Wall during holidays. The court had set a threshold of 600 people for dispersal in Tel Aviv and 150 in other cities; when the Saturday protest at Habima Square exceeded that limit, police moved in forcefully to clear the plaza, despite the court's initial authorization.

With the Tuesday deadline now set and both sides digging in, the question was no longer whether further escalation would come, but what form it would take and how far it would spread.