Pakistan, Egypt channeling messages between Iran, US officials - CNN

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed US President Donald Trump’s threats to strike Iran’s infrastructure as “reckless.”

“Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living HELL for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn,” Ghalibaf said on X.

“Make no mistake: You won’t gain anything through war crimes,” he added.

The United Arab Emirates said it is willing to support the US military campaign against Iran to regain control the Strait of Hormuz, Fox News reported citing an interview with Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the UAE President

"For us, the Strait of Hormuz cannot be held hostage by one country," Gargash said.

"We’re not ready to act as a maritime force but we will join any American-led effort, international effort to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. We are ready to play our part," he added.

"This is extremely important for the global economy and global trade; it is an issue that is extremely important for everybody. The Strait of Hormuz cannot be held hostage by any country," Gargash said.

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi urged commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to step down and stop their “crimes” to allow Iran’s infrastructure to be preserved, amid threats by US President Donald Trump to strike the country’s power plants.

“Allow the country’s infrastructure to be preserved for the Iranian nation,” Pahlavi said in a post on X.

“The corrupt regime of the Islamic Republic is on its way out,” he said.

“Your choice is not between survival and collapse; it is about how you collapse,” he added.

“For the sake of Iran, for yourselves, and for your children, abandon this adventurism and warmongering,” Pahlavi said.

“Do not leave Iran more bloodstained and wounded than it already is,” he added.

“Stop your crimes. Step down from power,” he said.

US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran should be over “in days, not weeks” and warned of severe consequences if it continues, in an interview with ABC News.

“It should be days, not weeks,” Trump said.

“It should be wrapped up in days because no sane group of people could stand the punishment that's going to rain down on them if it's not,” he added.

Trump also said he does not believe US ground troops are necessary at this stage but did not rule out the possibility.

“I don't think it's necessary but I don't rule anything out,” he said.

US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Axios that the United States initially worried that a message from the stranded crew member of the F-15 downed by Iran may have been part of a trick set by Iranian forces to lure US forces into a trap.

He said the crew member survived more than 24 hours in mountainous terrain before being rescued in a special forces mission involving around 200 troops.

“Thousands of these savages were hunting him down,” Trump said, referring to Iranian forces, adding that US officials later confirmed the airman was alive and not in captivity.

Trump also said Iran had shot down the aircraft with a shoulder-fired missile and that Israel helped “a little bit” during the rescue effort.