WASHINGTON — President Trump threatened Monday to destroy vital Iranian energy and water infrastructure if a peace deal is not reached, as Tehran continued to deny negotiations were taking place and said it was preparing for a ground invasion following the arrival of thousands of American troops in the region.

If a ceasefire agreement is not reached quickly, the president said in a social media post, “We will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!).”

The threats came within hours of the president insisting on Sunday night that diplomatic efforts would “probably” lead to a deal soon, and that Iran had allowed 20 more oil cargo ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as a “sign of respect.”

Trump said the United States is in “serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME in Iran” but offered no details.

Iran, however, continued to throw cold water on the negotiations Monday when Esmail Baghaei, the foreign ministry spokesperson, dismissed the Trump administration’s terms as “unrealistic, unreasonable and excessive.”

“I do not know how many people in the United States take American diplomacy claims seriously. Our mission is clear, unlike the other side, which constantly changes its position,” he said in comments carried by the semi-official Iranian agency Tasnim News.

Baghaei said that there have been no direct negotiations, but only messages through intermediaries stating that the U.S. wants to confer.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a news briefing on Monday that the “American people are smart enough” to not take Iranian officials “at their word” when they say there are no negotiations happening with the United States.

Leavitt said the Trump administration is negotiating with Iranian leaders who are “appearing more reasonable behind the scenes” than the regime’s previous leaders, who were killed by strikes launched by the United States and Israel.

“This is another historic opportunity for Iran to do the right thing to rid themselves of their nuclear ambitions and to come to a deal with this president,” she said. “Or, again, they will see the grave consequences of the United States armed forces.”

Leavitt added that Trump is “not afraid” to use the full force of the U.S. military to ensure victory in the Middle East. She said this after being asked why the president was threatening to intentionally target civilian infrastructure that could impact water and energy supplies, a move that could amount to a war crime under international law.

“Of course this administration and the United States armed forces will always act within the confines of the law, but with respect to achieving the full objective of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump is going to move forward unabated,” she said.

As the war continues and Arab countries are roped into the conflict, Leavitt told reporters, the president is open to having those countries help pay for the costs associated with the Iran war.

“I won’t get ahead of him on that,” she said. “But certainly it’s an idea that I know that he has and something that I think you’ll hear from him on.”

On Saturday, the USS Tripoli, a naval warship, arrived in the Middle East carrying about 3,500 sailors and Marines and a transport of fighter planes. Earlier this month, the San Diego-based USS Boxer and two warships from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit departed from Camp Pendleton to join the buildup of troops in the region.

The deployments have made Iranian diplomatic envoys even more dubious that American peace efforts are sincere.

“The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground offensive. [They] are nothing more than a cover to hide preparations for a land invasion,” Iran’s top lawmaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a statement Sunday.

He added that Iranian forces were waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to “set them on fire” and “punish their regional partners forever,” according to state media.

As officials in both Washington and Tehran strike increasingly hard lines, neighboring countries are desperate for a truce.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi pleaded with Trump to stop the war during a speech at an Egyptian energy conference on Monday.

“I tell President Trump: Nobody can stop the war in our region in the gulf but you,” Sisi said.

“Please, Mr. President, please. Please help us stop the war. You are capable of doing so.”

Egypt, though not directly involved in the war, has contended with its repercussions on energy, fertilizer and food prices, not to mention disruptions to shipping income Cairo receives through the Suez Canal.

“Wealthy countries might be able to absorb this, but for middle-income and fragile economies, it could have a very, very severe impact on their stability,” ‌Sisi said, noting that predictions of oil reaching $200 per barrel were “not an exaggeration.”

Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979, which saw Israel return territory it seized during the 1967 war. Though the agreement is deeply unpopular with most Egyptians, it has held despite escalating tensions during Israel’s campaign against Hamas.

In December, the two nations formally announced a $35-billion agreement expanding Israel gas exports to Egypt. But the war with Iran has disrupted supplies, tripling the cost of imports, according to Egyptian officials.

Last week, the government ordered energy-saving measures for a one-month period, including early closing times for most commercial establishments as well as reductions in street lighting and allocations for government vehicles.

Jordan, another U.S. regional ally that is also energy-starved, took similar steps, enacting bans on air conditioning in government offices and private use of government vehicles.

Despite talks of negotiations, the fighting showed little sign of abating.

Trump’s call for peace followed a fresh round of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran Monday. Tehran retaliated by hitting a major water and power facility in Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said they intercepted incoming Iranian missiles.

Two U.N. peacekeepers were killed on Monday when an “explosion of unknown origin” hit their vehicle near the village of Bani Hayyan, in south Lebanon.

The deaths mark the second fatal incident in two days involving the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, a peacekeeping force established in 1978 and which later monitored cessation of hostilities between the two nations.

UNIFIL also reported a peacekeeper was killed Sunday night when a projectile exploded in a UNIFIL position.

“We do not know the origin of the projectile. We have launched an investigation to determine all of the circumstances,” a UNIFIL statement on Monday said.

Meanwhile, Israel continued its bombardment of Lebanon, hitting areas near the capital and in the country’s south. One strike targeted a Lebanese army checkpoint, killing a soldier, the Lebanese military said. Lebanese authorities said on Monday that the death toll since hostilities broke out between Hezbollah and Israel earlier this month continues to rise.

The Israeli military said one of its soldiers was killed in a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack in southern Lebanon, which also wounded four other soldiers. Six soldiers have been killed since Israel restarted its campaign in Lebanon.

Hezbollah rockets also killed two civilians, according to Israeli health authorities.

Israel’s fire and rescue service said a fuel tanker and a building at the oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa were hit by debris from an intercepted missile, according to a report from Israeli daily the Times of Israel.

It was unclear whether the missile was launched by Iran, the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah or Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Deaths from the conflict continue to rise, with 1,900 people killed in Iran, over 1,200 in Lebanon, 19 in Israel and 13 U.S. military members. Millions of people have been displaced from their homes in Iran and Lebanon.

Ceballos and Quinton reported from Washington, Bulos from Beirut.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is calling on prosecutors to try, convict and punish the undocumented killer of Stephanie Minter, arguing that he must face American justice before he’s ordered to leave the country.

Kaine said he fears deportation could be a form of leniency.

“I’m not sure that if he’s deported, [that] he will really face the punishment that he should face. If you do a deportation now, what’s the guarantee he would really face severe consequences for what he’s done?” Kaine said.

“I think he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and then possibly deported after that, but I wouldn’t want him to escape accountability for the crime.”

TRUMP ADMIN ASKS SPANBERGER, VIRGINIA OFFICIALS NOT RELEASE ILLEGAL CHARGED WITH GROPING HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS

Authorities are charging Abdul Jalloh, a 32-year-old Sierra Leone native, with the murder of Stephanie Minter after authorities found her dead at a bus stop in Fairfax, Virginia last month.

Jalloh had already been arrested more than 30 times before his fatal confrontation with Minter, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Among others, his previous charges included rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing and more.

Local authorities dropped previous charges against Jalloh, allowing him to walk free.

IGNORED ICE DETAINERS ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK,’ DHS SAYS, TARGETING NEWSOM, PRITZKER, HEALEY

Kaine believes this time should be different.

“I think he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and then possibly deported after that,” Kaine said.

Jalloh has been charged with second-degree murder.

Even as questions remain about why Virginia authorities let Jalloh go, Kaine, who served as governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, posited that ICE may have failed to follow through on requests to detain Jalloh ahead of Minter’s murder.

“My experience when I was governor — and this is now 15 or 20 years ago — is that we would normally let ICE know before we let anybody out of prison in Virginia, and then they wouldn’t show up,” Kaine said.

VIRGINIA PROSECUTOR’S RECORD ON VIOLENT OFFENDERS SCRUTINIZED AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED IN MOM’S MURDER

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“We would give them two-weeks notice [and say] ‘Hey, here’s somebody who’s here, come pick them up,’ and they wouldn’t show up. That was more my experience.”

Fox Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for governor of California, has accused President Trump of trying to sway the election following reports that FBI Director Kash Patel may release documents from a decade-old investigation into the congressman’s ties to a suspected Chinese spy.

Patel directed agents in the bureau’s San Francisco office to redact the case files for public release, according to a report by the Washington Post, a highly unusual move by the FBI to release case files tied to a probe that did not result in criminal charges.

The investigation centered on Swalwell’s ties to a suspected intelligence operative, Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, who worked as a volunteer raising money for his congressional campaign. Swalwell cut off ties to Fang in 2015, after intelligence officials briefed him and other members of Congress about Chinese efforts to infiltrate the legislative body.

Swalwell, among the frontrunners in the sprawling field of candidates for California governor, was not accused of impropriety.

The White House referred questions to the FBI and the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We are at war. Gas prices are soaring. And threats against the homeland are on the rise. But instead of concentrating on the issues most important to this country, Donald Trump and Kash Patel have decided to continue their revenge tour and to interfere in the California Governor’s election,” Swalwell told The Times on Sunday. “They believe they will get a servant in Sacramento.”

Swalwell said he has not been contacted by the FBI, but “considering how they have selectively released or not released files recently, I don’t trust them one bit. This case is closed.”

Swalwell accused Trump of “desperately trying” to stop him, because he’s now the favored candidate for California governor. Swalwell and former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter were tied for top Democrat candidate, according to a poll released earlier this month by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times.

“What Trump wants the most is to have a Western White House. An enabler on the opposite coast,” he said. “A lot of people have bent the knee to this administration. But I will not. And neither will the people of California.”

It’s not the first time Swalwell has accused the administration of targeting Trump’s political opponents.

Last year, Swalwell sued Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, accusing him of criminally misusing government databases to target Trump’s political opponents. Pulte had accused Swalwell of mortgage fraud and referred him to the Justice Department for a potential federal criminal probe. Swalwell dropped that suit this month.

Swalwell, a former prosecutor who ran for president in 2020, announced his bid for California governor in November. Swalwell said his decision was driven by the serious problems facing California and the threats posed to the state and nation with Trump in the White House.

On Sunday, Swalwell secured the endorsement of the California Teachers Assn., a powerful force in state democratic politics.

U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who has endorsed Swalwell for governor, shared the Washington Post story on X Saturday, saying, “This abuse of the FBI is as dangerous as it is unlawful.” Schiff served with Swalwell on the House Intelligence Committee, where they riled Republicans by investigating President Trump during his first term.

Schiff served as the lead manager of Trump’s first impeachment and Swalwell as a manager of Trump’s second impeachment.

“Time and again, the President and his appointees have weaponized the Department of Justice against those who dare stand up to Trump,” Schiff wrote. He added that there was no doubt that Trump and Patel “will stop at nothing to try to tell Californians who their next governor should be.”

The Post story unleashed a flood of critiques from California politicians, including Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), who sits on the House Intelligence Committee. On X, Gomez accused Patel of “wasting resources” on a “closed, decade-old case where Swalwell cooperated with the FBI and was found innocent of any wrongdoing.”

“Reopening it now, right as he leads in the polls and ballots are about to drop, is a political hit-job!” Gomez said. “Trump and Kash Patel are weaponizing the FBI against people they deem political enemies.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, released a statement accusing Patel of working at “the behest of the White House” and “wasting the resources of the FBI and perhaps violating the Hatch Act by ordering agents to spend hours preparing a political smear file for a [personal] vendetta.”

Fang came into contact with Swalwell’s campaign as he was first running for Congress in 2012. She also participated in fundraising for his 2014 campaign and helped place an intern in his office. Federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns — and briefed Congress — about Fang in 2015, at which point the California Democrat says he cut off contact with her.

In 2023, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blocked Swalwell from continuing to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence due to the past connection with an alleged spy. That same year, the House Ethics Committee closed a two-year investigation into the allegations of Swalwell’s ties to Fang.

In closing the probe, the ethics committee wrote in a letter to Swalwell that it had “previously reviewed allegations of improper influence by foreign agents and in doing so, cautioned that Members should be conscious of the possibility that foreign governments may attempt to secure improper influence through gifts and other interactions.”

Swalwell released a statement after the investigation was closed, stating that he’d assisted the FBI in its counterintelligence investigation of Fang.

“Despite the FBI repeatedly saying I was nothing but helpful and never accused of wrongdoing, this complaint was filed by a House Republican,” he said. “It’s time to move on.”

“If the intent in bringing this complaint and leveling false smears was to silence me, that is not going to happen,” he added.

In an interview with The Times in November, the day before he announced he was running for governor, Swalwell said the FBI and the House Ethics Committee had previously cleared him.

“The FBI said, ‘By the way, like he did nothing wrong, he was always cooperative.’ And also the House Ethics Committee that McCarthy led said, ‘He did nothing wrong.’ So, you know, I can’t say anything better than, like, what Kevin McCarthy’s ethics committee said. But I get why they see me as a villain. And go after me, and that’s fine.”

On Saturday, Swalwell’s campaign team sent out an email referencing the “explosive new reporting,” and asking for donations to help “fight back.”

Times staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.