United States President Donald Trump has claimed that "all hell" will rain down on Iran if no peace deal is reached within 48 hours, as his 10-day deadline for Iran to fully open the Strait of Hormuz approached.

Trump's threat came amid intensified strikes in the Middle East over the weekend, just as Christians were commemorating Easter, with hospitals and universities in Iran, as well as energy facilities in the Gulf countries, suffering heavy damage.

On Sunday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that the US military had pulled off "one of the most daring search and rescue operations in US history" and that a "highly respected colonel" was now "safe and sound".

"At my direction, the US Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the world, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine. This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation," said Trump, and vowed to "never leave an American warfighter behind" as he ended with an Easter greeting.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday that Iran's armed forces foiled a US attempt to rescue a downed pilot in a coordinated operation south of Isfahan in central Iran.

The spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters of Iran announced that Iranian military forces had destroyed several US aircraft in southern Isfahan and that the incident followed desperate efforts by US forces to infiltrate central Iran and extract the pilot.

The spokesman said a joint operation involving the aerospace and ground forces, volunteer Basij units, and law enforcement successfully intercepted and neutralized the incoming aircraft.

The spokesman also accused Trump of attempting to downplay the incident by claiming in a social media post that a special operation had been carried out to rescue the downed pilot. The spokesperson added that the downed aircraft included two Black Hawk helicopters and one C-130 military transport plane, all of which were struck and left burning in southern Isfahan.

Al Jazeera reported on Sunday that people were killed in Iran's Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province during the search operations for a US airman from the downed F-15E jet.

According to Iran's Fars news agency, five people were killed and eight wounded in an attack on the Koh Siah area of Kohgiluyeh County, while four others were killed in the Vazg and Kakan areas of Boyer-Ahmad County.

On Saturday, one person was killed from projectile fragments after the US and Israel strikes targeted a location close to Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Israel Defense Forces said its air forces struck more than 120 targets in central and western Iran and that its targets included ballistic missiles, UAV production and air defenses.

"Remember the Western outrage about hostilities in Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine?" Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on X following Saturday's attacks.

"Israel-US have bombed our Bushehr plant four times now. Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC capitals, not Tehran. Attacks on our petrochemicals also convey real objectives."

Araghchi also accused the US media of "misrepresenting" Iran's position and reiterated that what Iran cared about are the terms of a "lasting end to the illegal war that is imposed on us".

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, wrote on X on Sunday he was joining the IAEA in raising the alarm again over the safety of nuclear facilities in Iran.

"The latest incident involving the Bushehr nuclear power plant is a stark reminder: a strike could trigger a nuclear accident, with health impacts that would devastate generations," said Ghebreyesus.

"With every passing day of this escalating conflict, the stakes and threats are raised higher and higher. We must de-escalate now. Peace is the best medicine," he added.

Meanwhile, former IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei urged the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and United Nations to stop "madman" Trump from turning the region into a ball of fire.

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait reported energy facilities being targeted by Iranian drones.

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com