Iran War Day 38 — Trump Sets "Tuesday 8 PM" Deadline for Hormuz, US Navy SEALs Rescue Downed F-15 Colonel from Iranian Mountains, and Oil Hits $113

Sh. Bidyut Bala | PrimeWorld Times

April 6, 2026

Thirty-eight days into the war that has already shattered global energy markets, sent oil past $113 per barrel, and displaced over a million people across Lebanon and Iran, Monday, April 6, 2026 opened with three stories that have brought the conflict to what analysts are now describing as its most dangerous inflection point yet.

US Navy SEAL Team Six has pulled off one of the most audacious combat rescues in American military history — extracting a seriously wounded US Air Force colonel from deep inside Iranian mountain territory after his F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down on Friday.

Donald Trump, empowered by that rescue and seemingly free from the diplomatic constraints it imposed, has issued his most explicit ultimatum yet — open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday, 8 PM Eastern Time, or Iran faces strikes on its power plants and bridges. And oil prices, already at levels the International Energy Agency has called the worst supply disruption since the 1970s energy crisis, pushed even higher. Day 38 is not a day of waiting. It is a day of decision.

The Rescue — SEAL Team Six Goes Deep into Iran

US Navy SEAL Team Six successfully extracted the missing weapons systems officer whose F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran on Friday — the first confirmed loss of an American warplane over Iranian territory in the war. 

The officer, an Air Force colonel, had evaded Iranian forces for more than 24 hours in mountainous terrain before commandos reached him Saturday night.

Trump confirmed the rescue on Truth Social: "We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran. He is a highly respected Colonel."

The elite Army Delta Force and Navy SEAL Team Six were among the hundreds of special operations troops and US military and intelligence personnel involved in the rescue.

The two-day operation was anything but quiet. The IRGC claimed on Sunday that Iranian forces destroyed two C-130 aircraft and two Black Hawk helicopters during the rescue operation, and also claimed to have destroyed an MQ-9 Reaper drone in Isfahan. 

The US military has not confirmed these losses. What is confirmed is that both crew members of the downed jet are now back in American hands — alive, though one seriously wounded.

An analyst told Al Jazeera that the successful rescue "frees up President Trump to pursue whatever strategy he has in mind."

That assessment proved immediately accurate. Within hours of confirming the colonel's rescue, Trump escalated his rhetoric to levels unseen in the 38-day conflict.

Global food prices surge in 2026

The Ultimatum — "Tuesday 8 PM or Living in Hell"

Trump threatened to attack civilian infrastructure inside Iran, including bridges and power plants, if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by his stated deadline of Monday — and then pushed the deadline to Tuesday, April 7, at 8 PM Eastern Time.

On Truth Social on Sunday, Trump wrote: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****** Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH!"

Trump also told Axios: "If they don't make a deal, I am blowing up everything over there."

Yeh pehli baar nahi hai jab Trump ne aisi deadline di hai. Trump had issued a similar two-day ultimatum to Iran on March 21, only to extend the deadline to April 6.

But this time the diplomatic calculus is different. The two crew members are safely recovered. Negotiations through special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have not produced a breakthrough. And Trump has publicly staked his credibility on Tuesday as the red line.

Iran's response has been characteristically defiant. Iran's central military command on Saturday called Trump's ultimatum "a helpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action."

A senior Iranian official responded that the strait will not be reopened until the country is "fully compensated" for war damages.

Iran's military joint command warned of "more crushing, broader and more destructive" attacks if the US and Israel targeted civilian infrastructure in Iran.

International law experts have flagged the serious legal implications of Trump's threats. Deliberately striking civilian power plants and bridges falls under protections outlined in international humanitarian law — and several NATO allies have quietly urged Washington to exercise restraint.

NASA satellite Crashes to earth

Oil at $113 — The World Pays Every Day

As of Monday morning, Brent crude — the global benchmark — was above $111, while UAE Murban crude climbed above $114.8. 

Oil prices pushed higher Sunday after Trump threatened to strike Iranian energy facilities, with Brent crude rising 1.4% to $110.60 and US crude rising 1.8% to $113.60.

The Strait of Hormuz closure has triggered what the International Energy Agency called the largest disruption to the energy supply since the 1970s oil crisis, with roughly 10 million barrels per day lost.  Oil prices have surged more than 60% since the war began, and the IEA warned this month that April prices are likely to be "much worse than March."

For India — which imports over 85% of its crude oil — every dollar increase in Brent crude means hundreds of crore rupees in additional import costs every single day. Petrol and diesel prices at Indian pumps have already climbed, and fertilizer costs — which depend heavily on natural gas — are rising as well. Up to 30% of internationally traded fertilizers normally transit the Strait of Hormuz, and in early March, Middle East granular urea prices rose nearly 20% compared to late February levels. Indian farmers are feeling this war in their costs even if they cannot see it on a battlefield.

India Resumes Iranian Oil Imports — A Quiet But Historic Move

In one of the most significant diplomatic signals of Day 38 for Indian readers, India's Ministry of Petroleum confirmed that it has resumed purchasing oil from Iran — for the first time since 2019. 

This is a decision of enormous strategic and economic significance. India stopped buying Iranian oil in 2019 under pressure from US sanctions. Resuming those purchases now — in the middle of a US-led war against Iran — signals that India is prioritising its own energy security over American diplomatic preferences.

A container ship belonging to the French shipping company CMA CGM crossed the Strait of Hormuz, apparently the first passage of a European vessel since the outbreak of the war. Ships from Japan and Oman also crossed the strait, likely in coordination with Iran. 

Oman and Iran are expected to hold a joint meeting to examine the regulation of passage through the Strait of Hormuz for humanitarian purposes.

India's diplomatic positioning — maintaining official neutrality while quietly resuming Iranian oil purchases — is a high-wire act. It risks friction with Washington at a sensitive moment. But it also demonstrates that India will not sacrifice its energy security on the altar of geopolitical alignment.

Lebanon's Deepening Crisis — Over a Million Displaced

At least 1,001 people have been killed and 2,584 more wounded by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, and Lebanon states more than one million Lebanese nationals — corresponding to one-sixth of the country — have been displaced.

Over the weekend, Hezbollah carried out 51 attacks against Israel across two days, targeting communities in the Galilee including the cities of Nahariya, Acre, Safed, and Rosh Pina. (Alma Research and Education Center) Falling debris and cluster munitions were identified in civilian areas in Kiryat Ata, Haifa, a residential building in Bnei Brak, and a school in central Tel Aviv.

Lebanon's foreign minister has called the situation a war being fought on Lebanese soil for interests that are not Lebanese. Lebanon's preferred option is to exit the war through independent negotiations without reliance on Iran — but the country's foreign minister expressed doubt about whether this was feasible, given what he described as a lack of Israeli willingness to advance ceasefire negotiations.

The Human Cost — 2,076 Iranians Dead

At least 2,076 people have been killed, and 26,500 have been injured in Iran since February 28, when the US and Israel first launched strikes on Iran and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Iran says US-Israeli attacks have killed five people and wounded 170 others at the Mahshahr Petrochemical Zone, and that more than 30 universities have been targeted since the war was launched on February 28.

A fourth Red Crescent aid worker has been killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The IFRC stated that the Red Crescent emblem is an internationally recognised symbol of humanitarian neutrality — and that its protection is not merely a moral issue but a legal imperative under international humanitarian law.

PrimeWorld Times Analysis — The Clock is Ticking

Day 38 ends with the world holding its breath. An American colonel is safe. Oil is at $113. A Tuesday deadline hangs over every energy market, every diplomatic back-channel, and every family in India paying more for petrol and cooking gas.

The Strait of Hormuz is not just a waterway. It is the jugular vein of the global economy. Every day it stays closed, the world bleeds a little more — in higher food prices, costlier medicines, squeezed family budgets from Mumbai to Milan. Trump knows this. Iran knows this. The question of Tuesday is not really about power plants and bridges. It is about who will blink first — and what the world will look like when they do.

India must use every available channel — through Oman, through Pakistan's foreign minister who has already spoken with Iran's Araghchi, through its own resumed oil relationship with Tehran — to push urgently for a negotiated opening of the Strait. Not because India takes sides in this war. But because India cannot afford to watch silently while the energy arteries of the world are severed one day at a time.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What happened to the US F-15E crew members shot down over Iran?

A: Both crew members have been successfully rescued by US special operations forces. The pilot was rescued within hours of the aircraft being shot down on April 3. The weapons systems officer — a senior Air Force colonel — was rescued on Saturday night after evading Iranian forces for more than 24 hours in mountainous terrain. He is described as seriously wounded but alive.

Q: Will Trump actually strike Iran's power plants on Tuesday?

A: Trump has issued and then extended similar deadlines multiple times during this war. However, analysts note that the situation is now different — both crew members are recovered, negotiations have not produced a deal, and Trump has publicly set a precise time. Whether he follows through or extends again remains the defining question of Day 38.

Q: Why has India resumed buying Iranian oil?

A: India stopped purchasing Iranian oil in 2019 under US sanctions pressure. With the war causing global oil prices to surge more than 60% and the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, India's Ministry of Petroleum has prioritised energy security, resuming Iranian oil imports for the first time in seven years. This reflects India's broader stance of strategic neutrality in the conflict.

Q: What is the Strait of Hormuz and why does it matter so much?

A: The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas normally passes. Its effective closure since February 28 has triggered the largest global energy supply disruption since the 1970s oil crisis, causing prices to surge more than 60% and contributing to fuel shortages and energy rationing in multiple countries.

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Iran War Day 38, Trump Tuesday Hormuz Deadline, US SEAL Rescue F-15 Iran, Oil Price $113, India Iran Oil Resume, Lebanon Crisis, Strait of Hormuz Crisis April 2026