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Texas Open: Robert MacIntyre misses out on title before Masters as JJ Spaun gets third win

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Texas Open: Robert MacIntyre misses out on title before Masters as JJ Spaun gets third win


Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre missed out on a chance to win a third PGA Tour title as he was overtaken by American JJ Spaun at the weather-hit Texas Open.

MacIntyre led by one shot on 14 under par when the third round belatedly ended on Sunday, after storms drastically curtailed Saturday’s play.

The world number 11 then shot a two-under 70 in his fourth round, helped significantly by an eagle at the par-four 17.

But he was unable to match the final-day surge from US Open champion Spaun and had to settle for a share of second place before Masters week at Augusta.

Spaun’s closing 67 took him to 17 under for a one-shot win, with MacIntyre – who had to play 30 holes on Sunday – unable to make the birdie he needed at 18 to force a play-off.

The victory was 35-year-old Spaun’s second at the San Antonio event, the setting for his maiden PGA Tour title in 2022.

England’s Matt Wallace also finished on 16 under as he followed up a third-round 64 with a 68 that gave him the clubhouse lead for a long time, while American Michael Kim made it a three-way tie in second.

“This game is so crazy,” Spaun told Sky Sports. “I’ve not been at the form I wanted to be based off last season. It means a lot to come back and win here at a place that’s been so good to me.

“There’s so much that comes with winning such big events like the US Open or any other major. I put a lot of pressure on myself this year, complete opposite of the mantra from last year that really helped me, so I tried to get back to that.

“I put less pressure on myself. It’s been trying, but sticking to that mantra has really helped me.”

MacIntyre’s second-round lead had been reduced from four shots to two by Swedish playing partner Ludvig Aberg through six holes when storms caused the third round to be suspended on Saturday.

The 29-year-old Scot was faced with a heavy Sunday schedule but still looked set to carry a two-shot lead into the final round, only to bogey the 18th for a 72, a frustrating note on which to end his third round.

MacIntyre then twice made birdie before immediately dropping a shot in his final round, and Spaun sprinted to the clubhouse lead with three birdies on the back nine plus an eagle on the driveable 17th.

MacIntyre impressively matched that eagle to rally his hopes of victory, but he hit a wayward second shot on 18 and could not get close enough to the pin with his third.

His putt from 30 feet away ran wide, ensuring Spaun won a third PGA Tour title of his career.

There will be little time to celebrate victory for Spaun, or dwell on what might have been for MacIntyre, who began the tournament with rounds of 66 and 64, as the Masters, the first major of the year, begins on Thursday.



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Dawn Staley gives classy answer after Geno Auriemma question following national title loss: ‘It’s UCLA’s day’

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Dawn Staley gives classy answer after Geno Auriemma question following national title loss: ‘It’s UCLA’s day’


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South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley was disappointed how the Gamecocks’ season ended on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix, a 79-51 loss to the UCLA Bruins in the national championship game.

During her post-game interview, Staley was asked about what happened in the Gamecocks’ prior Final Four matchup against UConn, where she and head coach Geno Auriemma had a tense exchange after South Carolina advanced to the title game for the third year in a row.

Rather than hash out more of her thoughts, Staley had a classy response.

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Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks watches during the first half of the NCAA women’s basketball championship game against the UCLA Bruins at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 5, 2026. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos)

“I don’t want – this is UCLA’s day, right? Let’s keep it UCLA, them winning the national championship,” Staley told reporters, via The Athletic. “… We’re not going to damper UCLA’s day with it.”

Before this national title contest, Staley was spotted having a cordial experience greeting UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close — a much different experience than how Friday night ended with Auriemma.

UCLA WINS FIRST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NATIONAL TITLE IN PROGRAM HISTORY WITH DOMINANT WIN OVER SOUTH CAROLINA

After the Gamecocks defeated the Huskies, Staley and Auriemma went viral with their interaction at midcourt, where Auriemma appeared to enrage Staley before walking off.

This time, Staley and Close hugged and shared a few words. During the exchange, Staley “looked around afterward like, ‘see??’”, per NBC Sports.

Staley was showing a bit of sarcasm, as she noted Auriemma didn’t shake her hand before the Final Four tipped off between the two teams on Friday night.

After the Gamecocks’ victory over the Huskies, Staley was asked what exactly happened with Auriemma, though she tried to explain her focus in helping her team lock in for the national title game. If they won, it would’ve been the fourth national championship in the last 10 years for South Carolina.

Head coach Cori Close of UCLA Bruins watching game during NCAA women's basketball championship.

Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins watches during the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 5, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

“For me, no distractions at this time. I’m concentrating on winning a national championship, that’s it,” Staley said at the time. “That’s a little disheartening. This is sports, sometimes things like this happen. Continue to focus on my team and ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship.”

UCONN’S UNDEFEATED SEASON CRUMBLES AS SOUTH CAROLINA GETS SWEET REVENGE AGAINST REIGNING CHAMPS

Auriemma later released a statement, apologizing for his behavior after the loss.

“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut,” the Hall of Fame coach said in a statement on Saturday. “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”

Staley added she had “no idea” why Auriemma was angry after the game, though she guessed perhaps he was ticked off by the lack of handshake before the game on his own end. Either way, Staley was moving forward.

UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close shaking hands with South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley on basketball court

UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close shakes hands with South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley after defeating South Carolina 79-51 in the NCAA women’s championship game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 4, 2026. (Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)

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“I don’t know what he came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on,” she said.

For UCLA, it was the first time the women’s basketball program has won the national title, as their emotional celebration ensued following the game in Phoenix.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.





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‘Game changing’ support set to help millions navigate their financial lives

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‘Game changing’ support set to help millions navigate their financial lives


Millions of people are set to receive “game changing” support to help them navigate their financial lives.

From April 6, some firms can offer targeted support to help people make better-informed decisions about what to do with their money, based on what they would recommend to those in similar circumstances.

The changes mean that people’s banks, pension providers, or other financial firms that are authorised for targeted support can provide suggestions designed for groups of consumers with common characteristics.

Targeted support will help to fill the gap between people receiving general guidance and paying for individualised advice, enabling more people to make informed decisions.

Customers will receive “ready-made” suggestions, designed for groups of consumers and not based on a full, in-depth individual assessment.

In December, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that at least 18 million people could be offered extra help with their investments and pensions over the next decade with the introduction of targeted support.

According to FCA data, around seven million adults in the UK with £10,000 or more in cash savings could be missing out on the benefits of investing throughout their lives.

Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA, said: “Too many people aren’t getting the help they need to navigate their financial lives.

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“Without the right support to make decisions about their investments and pensions, many people risk falling short in retirement.

“Targeted support is designed to change that. It will help millions of people make better informed decisions and understand the potential rewards and any risks, including of not investing.”

Chira Barua, chief executive of Scottish Widows said: “The arrival of targeted support is a game changer for people who want help with their money but don’t know where to start.

“It bridges the gap between doing nothing and getting full financial advice, empowering millions to make better financial decisions.

Technology will be key to making that support available at scale.

“Our AI (artificial intelligence) agent in the Scottish Widows app will work like sat nav, by helping people understand their options and choose a route that makes sense for them, based on others on a similar journey.”

A survey commissioned by KPMG UK found that more than two-fifths (44%) of people are confident they will use targeted support if it becomes available to them.

More than half (58%) of people surveyed said they have never sought professional advice on pensions or long-term savings and a similar proportion (53%) said they would welcome being offered targeted support.

Jane Wilson, targeted support lead at KPMG UK, said: “The fact that almost one in two consumers want to receive targeted support creates a once in a generation opportunity to close the advice gap and support the UK’s ambition to create a nation of savers.”

KPMG found that of those consumers who have never sought professional financial advice, nearly a third (31%) feel they do not have enough money to make advice worthwhile, while around a quarter (26%) said it would be unaffordable.

When looking across the age brackets, people aged between 25 and 44 who were surveyed were most open to using targeted support, with 58% of 25 to 34-year-olds saying they are likely to use the support and 56% of 35 to 44-year-olds also saying this.

Those over 65 were the least inclined to access targeted support, at 22%, which KPMG suggested is driven by this age group being particularly likely to have already made pension decisions.

Ms Wilson added: “The notion that financial advice is only needed if you have notable wealth is simply not true; people with modest finances perhaps need support more than anyone else.

“Retirement no longer means handing in your lanyard and putting on your slippers; people work part-time, take on new challenges, or dip in and out of work to suit their changing lifestyles or meet their financial needs.

“The strong appetite for targeted support amongst the young shows there’s a chance to move people beyond saving and give them the confidence to invest for the long term.

“Done well, this can help individuals grow their wealth in line with their ambitions, while also channelling capital into the parts of the economy that drive sustainable growth.”

KPMG commissioned OnePoll to carry out the survey among 2,000 people across the UK in March.

Tom Shields, senior policy adviser, long-term savings policy at the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said: “We’re delighted to see targeted support now becoming a reality.

“After years of collaboration between industry, government and the FCA, this new approach is a significant step towards helping people get the support they need through their financial lives.

“We look forward to continuing to work closely with our members and the regulator as more firms bring the service to market.”



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Major supermarkets face call to reinstate pay in line with real living wage

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Major supermarkets face call to reinstate pay in line with real living wage


Supermarkets are being urged to restore worker pay in line with the real living wage after a raft stepped back from matching the salary benchmark in recent years amid soaring industry cost pressures.

Investor activists ShareAction is calling on the UK’s biggest grocery chains – and some of the country’s biggest employers – to reinstate pay at the level of the real living wage.

Players in the sector announced pay rises in recent weeks ahead of the April 1 increase in the national minimum wage, which rose to £12.71 per hour for those aged 21 and over across the UK.

While many are paying shop workers above the minimum wage, few now match the higher real living wage – a voluntary independent industry designed to be calculated on the real cost of living, and is currently set at £13.45 an hour and £14.80 in London.

M&S was revealed last month to be no longer offering pay in line with the real living wage when it announced its latest wage hike, despite a rise of at least 6.4% and offering levels above the national minimum wage and inflation.

The Co-operative Group also became the latest to announce its pay rise for workers, with a 3.5% increase from April, but has now dropped a previous “long-standing commitment” to the real living wage.

The two biggest players in the sector – Tesco and Sainsbury’s – also no longer match pay to the real living wage and have not since 2025.

Both pay higher than the national minimum wage after above-inflation rises, but not at the living wage level.

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Discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl are the only major supermarkets to pay entry-level shop staff in line with the real living wage nationwide, with Aldi’s hourly rate exceeding the benchmark.

The John Lewis Partnership, which owns supermarket Waitrose, has hiked shop staff pay by 6.9% from April but only matches the real living wage for employees within the M25.

ShareAction said pressure on firms to make firm commitments on pay would be a “major focus” for it at upcoming annual meetings for shareholders.

But it comes amid steep cost pressures on the sector, not least higher National Insurance contributions after the tax hike in April last year.

Louise Eldridge, head of good work at ShareAction, told the Press Association: “It’s disappointing to see supermarkets like M&S, Sainsbury’s and Tesco moving away from matching the real Living Wage pay rates after setting the pace in recent years.

“We know retailers are under real pressure.

“The latest Living Wage rise reflects higher living costs, but that’s exactly why paying people a wage they can actually live on is so important.”

She added: “Investors have been making the case to these companies that better pay has proven business benefits, from better morale to lower turnover and higher productivity.

“We’ve made progress on disclosure, but that alone won’t help staff cover the basics, so we’re continuing to push for concrete commitments on pay. This will be a major focus for us at supermarket AGMs this year.”

A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s, which increased worker pay by 5% in April, said the group had increased hourly wages by 42% in the past five years.

“Our colleagues are at the heart of our success and rewarding them well continues to be a priority,” she said.

A Co-op spokesperson said: “In recent years we have aligned our lowest rates of pay with the Real Living Wage, although we are not formally accredited as a Real Living Wage employer.

“Pay is considered as part of our wider reward offer, which includes benefits such as paid breaks, colleague discounts and wellbeing support.”

M&S stressed it has never formally committed to the living wage.

Tesco said its wages have risen by 43% over the last five years, adding its workers “also benefit from a competitive reward package.”



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NI becomes first part of the UK to offer paid miscarriage leave

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NI becomes first part of the UK to offer paid miscarriage leave



Northern Ireland becomes first part of UK to bring in legal entitlement for parents affected by miscarriage at any stage of a pregnancy to have paid leave.



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Painter sues Bill Belichick over injuries allegedly suffered while working at his home

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Painter sues Bill Belichick over injuries allegedly suffered while working at his home


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North Carolina Tar Heels football coach Bill Belichick was sued on Thursday over an alleged incident that occurred at his Massachusetts home in June 2024.

Painter Andrew Jackson sued Forty Five Fair Street LLC, a company managed by Belichick, in Nantucket Superior Court. Jackson said in his lawsuit that “construction practices created an unsafe work area for workers at the premises” and, because of that, he suffered injuries after a fall.

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Head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on during the first quarter against the Syracuse Orange at JMA Wireless Dome on Oct. 31, 2025 in Syracuse, New York. (Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)

“As a direct and proximate result of the fall, plaintiff sustained serious bodily injuries including a severe right ankle injury, together with pain, disability, medical expenses, lost wages, and other consequential damages,” the lawsuit stated.

The filing added that Jackson received workers’ compensation benefits after the fall but “retains his rights to pursue this third-party negligence action against non-employer responsible parties.”

The lawsuit said that Belichick’s company should have made sure the construction site was in a safe-working condition.

North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick and General Manager Michael Lombardi looking on from the sideline at Kenan Memorial Stadium

North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick and General Manager Michael Lombardi in action, looks on from the sideline vs TCU at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Sept. 1, 2025.
(Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

BILL BELICHICK DOWNPLAYS HALL OF FAME CONTROVERSY, SAYS FOCUS REMAINS ON NORTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL

“Defendant breached its duties by, among other things: a. causing, permitting, or allowing unsafe conditions to exist at the premises; b. failing to maintain the work area in a reasonably safe condition; c. failing to inspect the premises adequately; d. failing to remedy hazardous conditions it knew or should have known about; e. failing to warn Plaintiff of dangerous conditions; and f. otherwise acting negligently in the ownership, operation, management, supervision, maintenance, and control of the premises.”

Jackson is seeking nearly $300,000, according to the Nantucket Current, which first reported the lawsuit.

Fox News Digital reached out to Belichick’s representatives for comment.

North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick standing with the team at Kenan Stadium

North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick with the team before the game at Kenan Stadium. (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)

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Belichick bought the Nantucket property for $4.8 million in 2024, according to Boston.com.

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Scientists find way to make a healthier and ‘oozier’ version of vegan cheese

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Scientists find way to make a  healthier and ‘oozier’ version of vegan cheese


Scientists have developed a new vegan cheese that promises to be healthier, more environmentally friendly, and even “oozier” than existing alternatives.

Traditional vegan cheese substitutes often rely on solid fats such as coconut or palm oil to achieve their desired “sliceable, meltable” texture. However, this typically results in a high saturated fat content.

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University (HWU) have now pioneered a method using home-grown vegetable oils, including rapeseed and sunflower, as a sustainable alternative. This innovation aims to create a product that is both healthier for consumers and more sustainable for the planet.

Professor Stephen Euston, who is leading the team, said: “I think it’s fair to say that when most people try vegan cheese for the first time, they don’t wax lyrical.

“The main reason for that is probably to do with the lack of protein.

“Normal cheese is mostly protein, whereas vegan cheese has none.

“It’s mostly starch, with a few colourings and flavourings added, and sometimes a bit of salt.

“Its other main ingredient is fat: either coconut or palm oil.

“Solid fats help create the sliceable, meltable texture people expect from cheese.

“But it means that vegan cheese ends up with a high saturated fat content, often up to 25%, which means it isn’t the healthiest option.

“And consumers are becoming increasingly averse to palm and coconut oil due to the deforestation involved and its impact on wildlife like orangutans.”

The team achieved the feat using a process called oleogelation – which is where special molecules called oleogelators are added to a liquid oil and they assemble into microscopic structures that trap the oil inside a 3D structure.

Vegan cheese made from home-grown vegetable oils is healthier, greener and more ‘oozy’, scientists have found (Steve Parsons/PA Wire)

The result is a gel that behaves like a solid fat.

Prof Euston said the “challenge” is making vegetable oils behave like solid fat, so that the vegan cheese has something resembling the texture of actual cheese.

“We’re very mindful of reducing food miles, so we’re focused on using crops that can be grown sustainably, at scale, in the UK,” he added.

As well as having a lower saturated fat content, the team found cheese made from vegetable oils was also more “meltable” than several off-the-shelf coconut oil-based alternatives.

Prof Euston went on: “Meltability is one of the biggest complaints about vegan cheese – it’s not very oozy – so improving that feature is an unintended bonus.

“We’ve proved that our recipe, which reduces the saturated fat content of the cheese to as low as 3%, works theoretically and in our lab.

“But we’ve yet to take it to the kitchen and onto a plate.

“We’re hoping to do that within the next 10 months, when it will be presented to a tasting panel.

“It won’t taste any better or worse than the current vegan cheese slices on the market, but it will be more heart healthy and greener.”

The HWU team has received funding from the UK Research and Innovation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to reach a new milestone: moving the cheese from the lab into the kitchen and putting its taste to the test with real people.

Prof Euston’s peer-reviewed work on vegan cheese has been published in the journal, Food Chemistry.



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OpenClaw: What China’s frenzy says about its AI ambition

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OpenClaw: What China’s frenzy says about its AI ambition



The AI agent sparked a frenzy of “raising lobsters” in March, with users training the tool to suit their needs.



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Ukraine and Syria to cooperate on security, Zelenskyy says

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Ukraine and Syria to cooperate on security, Zelenskyy says


During a trip to Damascus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the two countries agreed to work together to provide ‘more security and opportunities for development for our societies’.

The leaders of Ukraine and Syria have pledged greater security cooperation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Kyiv offers its military expertise to governments across the Middle East region amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Zelenskyy held talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday, in his first trip to the Syrian capital since former leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted in 2024.

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Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that the leaders agreed to work together to provide “more security and opportunities for development for our societies”.

“There is a great interest in exchanging military and security experience,” he said.

Since the war began on February 28, Iran and its allied groups have attacked US and Israeli targets, as well as targets in Gulf countries, using a range of missiles and drones.

Ukraine, which has developed expertise in countering drone attacks in its more than four-year war with Russia, has offered its country’s expertise during Zelenskyy’s visits to countries in the region, and has sent teams to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

During his visit to the Gulf states last week, Zelenskyy signed long-term military cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Syria is not known to have any air defences capable of dealing with Iranian drones or missiles.

Zelenskyy also told al-Sharaa that Kyiv was a reliable grain supplier and said the two leaders “discussed joint opportunities to strengthen food security across the region”,

According to Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry on X, the country’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, also met Zelenskyy in Damascus on Sunday, as well as his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani and Ukraine’s Andrii Sybiha.

The meeting with foreign ministers came a day after Zelenskyy visited Turkiye, met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed on “new steps” in security cooperation, and discussed joint gas infrastructure projects and gasfield developments.



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Trump says ‘we’re blowing up the whole country’ if no Iran deal is reached in 48 hours

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Trump says ‘we’re blowing up the whole country’ if no Iran deal is reached in 48 hours


President Donald Trump said Sunday that if no peace deal is reached with Iran in the next 48 hours, “we’re blowing up the entire country.”

The president made the threat Sunday to ABC News’ senior political correspondent Rachel Scott in response to a question regarding whether his previously stated timeline of two to three weeks for a deal was still accurate.

Concerns have been raised about targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran and the consequences that could bring.

“It should be days, not weeks,” Trump said, adding that Iran “has been decimated, decimated. And every day is going to get worse.”

“Every day they’re gonna have to build more bridges, and they’re gonna have to build more power plants and more everything else,” the president said. “There’s been no country that’s ever taken a pounding like that.”

Watch special coverage on Nightline, “War with Iran,” each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Trump said Iran had 48 hours to agree to a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz or make peace.

“If it happens, it happens. And if it doesn’t, we’re blowing up the whole country. We’re blowing up, as I said, it’s going to be bridge day and it’s going to be power plant day in the country of Iran.”

A woman holds Iran’s national flag while standing near a billboard that reads “The Strait of Hormuz remains closed” at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on April 5, 2026.

AFP via Getty Images

The president was apparently referring to an ultimatum he posted Sunday on his social media platform for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Having already extended his deadline to open the strait twice, Trump warned the Iranian government that if it doesn’t fully open the critical maritime passageway for oil and trade by Tuesday, “you’ll be living in Hell.”

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Trump wrote in the profanity-laced post. He warned Tehran that if it fails to open the strait, “you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!”

On March 26, Trump extended an ultimatum a second time in the same week for Iran to completely open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping traffic, saying peace talks “are going very well.” In the post, Trump said that upon a request from the Iranian government, he was “pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 days.”

Two of the most important alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz

Map Tiles by Google Earth, Kpler

Trump extended the deadline for Iran to comply to Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

Fox News reported Sunday that Trump said in a telephone interview that he thinks a deal with Iran will come by Monday, and that if Iran fails to make a deal, he is “considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil.”

But in his phone interview later Sunday with ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Trump pushed back on that characterization, saying “there could be a deal, and there could also not be a deal. I don’t know. I have no idea what these people, they’re getting the s— beat out of them, and that’s, that’s all I can tell you. There’s been no country that’s ever taken a pounding like that.”

The president also said “very little” will be off limits if no deal is made.

Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, responded to Trump’s threats in a post on X.

“Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living HELL for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn because you insist on following Netanyahu’s commands,” Ghalibaf wrote.

“Make no mistake: You won’t gain anything through war crimes. The only real solution is respecting the rights of the Iranian people and ending this dangerous game,” the post further said.

The U.S. has sent Iran a 15-point proposal for ending the conflict. The negotiations are being mediated by the Pakistani government.

Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026.

Reuters

On March 25, Iran’s English-language state media, Press TV, quoted an Iranian official saying Iran has rejected the proposal after regime officials denied negotiations were happening. In a separate interview on the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on state TV that “Iran’s power is the Hormuz Strait.”

“I also want to say here that, from our point of view, the Hormuz Strait is not completely closed; it is closed only to our natural enemies,” Araghchi said after Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed in a March 22 letter to the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization that the Strait of Hormuz is open to “non-hostile” vessels.

In the letter, the Iranians define “non-hostile” ships as those from countries that “neither participate nor support acts of aggression against Iran” posed by the United States and Israel.

“We are in a wartime situation; the region is a war zone,” Araghchi said. “There is no reason to allow the ships of our enemies and their allies to pass, but it is free for the rest.”

In a social media post on Saturday, Araghchi said, “We are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and have never refused to go to Islamabad. What we care about are the terms of a conclusive and lasting END to the illegal war that is imposed on us.”

During a March 26 cabinet meeting, Trump claimed that Iran is “begging to make a deal” to end the conflict.

Trump said at the cabinet meeting that Iran had made good on a promise to allow 10 oil tankers operating under the flag of Pakistan to pass through the strait as a “present.” He said the gesture communicated to him “that we’re dealing with the right people” in the peace negotiations.

While Iran has allowed other ships from countries it says are friendly to Iran to pass through the strait, it has attacked ships from countries it considers hostile.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s military wing, said on Saturday that it hit an Israeli-linked container ship, the MSC Ishyka, with a drone near the Strait of Hormuz. Neither Israel nor the U.S. has yet publicly confirmed the attack.

In an address to the nation on Wednesday night, Trump declared that Iran is no longer a threat to the U.S. and the war in Iran is “nearing completion.” In the speech, the president promised to hit Iran “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks.

“We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong,” Trump said.

In response, Araghchi issued a social media post on Thursday, saying, “There’s one striking difference between the present and the Stone Age: there was no oil or gas being pumped in the Middle East back then.”

Araghchi added, “Are POTUS and Americans who put him in office sure that they want to turn back the clock?”



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