Donald Trump is “bewildered” that the war in Iran is still going on, according to a BBC reporter covering the conflict.

Daniel De Simone, who is a correspondent based in Jerusalem, said the American and Israeli governments seemed to have “under-estimated” the Tehran regime.

The two countries began their bombardment of Iran at the end of February, sparking a wider Middle East conflict amid fears of a global economic meltdown as oil prices soar.

In his latest gambit aimed at ending the war, Trump has threatened to destroy Iran entirely unless it re-opens the Strait of Hormuz by later today.

On Radio 4′s Today programme, De Simone said this was not now the US president had thought the war would go.

He said: “There are still missiles being fired towards Israel and that’s happening every day.

“That shows that the Iranian government, the military, is still able to pose a threat, that’s heading to the sixth week of this war.

“I think there’s a sense that there was a real under-estimation by the Israeli leadership [and] by the American leadership about how this war could go on, and certainly some of Donald Trump’s comments show that.

“He seems a bit bewildered that this is still happening and that the Iranian military is still fighting.”

He added: “I think that as long as Iran is able to fire missiles, it’d hard to see how they can claim that their objectives have been met.”

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There are so many things happening in children’s lives that are outside of parents’ control, so it’s understandable that parents can go a little bonkers over issues they can control, like food.

Some mums and dads worry so much about “proper” nutrition that they can suck the fun right out of one of life’s greatest pleasures – eating what we love.

Paediatric emergency room physician Dr. Dina Kulik said sugar, carbohydrates and processed foods, for example, trigger far more fear than they deserve. “In realistic amounts, and within an overall balanced diet, they’re not the villains they’re often made out to be,” she said. “The stress and restriction around these foods can be more harmful than the foods themselves.”

Many paediatricians are parents themselves, and they often have a more relaxed attitude about what their kids eat than you might expect. Here are some of the surprising things that show up at their dinner tables:

“We stop for fast food occasionally,” said Dr. Debra Langlois, a paediatrician at the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. “I’m a working parent; so when I get out of work late, and my children have an activity I need to get them to, they still have to eat. It’s important for all of us parents to remember that we’re doing the best we can. We need to give ourselves some grace as we strive to give children a healthy lifestyle that includes nutrition and physical activity.”

In a busy household, “some nights everyone just needs something quick and easy,” said Dr. Alicia Tucker, attending paediatrician at Children’s National’s obesity program called Improving Diet, Energy and Activity for Life (IDEAL).

“For us, chicken tenders fit the bill because they’re affordable, cook quickly and will always be eaten. I aim to balance this with easy, healthy sides that add some fibre and other nutrients, like putting them on top of a salad or serving them with apple slices or corn.”

“I do oven frying to use less oil, and I do use sweet potatoes sometimes,” said Dr. Tokunbo Akande, an integrative paediatrician. It’s a choice he feels just fine about: “A single food doesn’t determine a child’s health, so when the foundation is whole-food, plant-forward eating, occasional ‘fast foods’ don’t derail gut health, because the gut is more resilient.”

For Dr. Sara Hagan, a paediatrician at Oklahoma Children’s OU Health, frozen french fries are a welcome choice “on busy nights when we need something quick that our toddler will eat.” She went on to say that some parents worry unnecessarily about packaged foods and snacks. “While fresh foods are ideal, many packaged options contain added vitamins and nutrients that can support toddlers and picky eaters, and they can complement whole foods for a balanced diet.” Just remember that what your child eats isn’t a referendum on you, she said. “A child’s picky eating, preference for ‘treat’ foods or adventurous palate don’t reflect on a parent’s ability. The most important thing is raising a happy, healthy child.”

“My kids get barbecue or vinegar-and-salt chips as an occasional snack,” said Dr. Anisha Abraham, chief of adolescent medicine at Children’s National Hospital.

“As a teen health specialist taking care of adolescents with eating disorders, I know that strictly controlling what kids eat may increase anxiety around eating, lead to sneaking food, or contribute to disordered eating patterns later in life. Kids benefit from structure, including regular meals and snacks, but they also need independence and trust so they can develop healthy patterns as they become young adults.”

The crunchy treat also gets a nod from Dr. Adolfo Flores, a paediatrician at Children’s Health Dallas. “I have a 19-month-old, and she’ll occasionally enjoy some potato chips,” he said. “Although the amount of sodium and carbohydrates may give pause, it’s important that my daughter understands that a healthy diet looks like a diverse selection of foods, and that includes things like chips on occasion.”

Registered dietitian Katherine Shary leads paediatric obesity prevention efforts at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “I let my kids have dessert with dinner a couple times per week,” she said. “That includes ice cream, cake, brownies, cookies or popsicles.” She offered a smart approach to offering sweets. “If your child asks for brownies, you might say, ‘Sure, we can have brownies with dinner,’ and then serve one brownie to each person. If they ask for more, you can respond with: ‘That’s all the brownies we have for this meal, but if you’re still hungry, there’s plenty of other food on the table.’ This sets a clear boundary without shame or making dessert feel off-limits.”

“Peanut butter chocolate ice cream is my son’s favourite sweet treat,” said Dr. Paulina Tran, a paediatrician and associate program director in the allergy and immunology department of paediatrics at Los Angeles Medical Center. “As an allergist, I’m very aware that peanut is a top allergen. We know from strong evidence that early and regular exposure to allergens like peanuts can help prevent food allergies in many children. Since I know my child can safely eat peanuts, I’m supportive of him enjoying chocolate peanut butter ice cream as part of maintaining that regular exposure.”

“I do allow my kids, who are school-aged, to drink soda when we’re on vacation or celebrating birthdays,” said Dr. Rebecca Carter, a paediatrician at the University of Maryland Golisano Children’s Hospital and an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “As parents, we feel that treating soda as a once-in-a-while treat is a fair compromise, so that foods don’t feel fully off-limits or forbidden.”

Tucker noted, “Research consistently shows that parental modelling of healthy eating behaviours has a huge impact on a child’s developing relationship with food. When kids see their parents eating a variety of foods, they’re more likely to do so as well.”

She had some practical tips for being a good food role model: “Put cucumber sticks or other crunchy veggies on the table for a pre-dinner snack while you’re cooking, and over time your kids are likely to pick up on the habit, too. And if you’re craving a cookie after dinner, remember to avoid comments about weight or body image or only getting to eat it because you exercised. Just let everyone take a cookie together and enjoy the evening.”

The biggest takeaway from the paediatricians we spoke with is that you set the tone around food, and it should be one of pleasure, enjoyment and nourishment.

“Most parents restrict treats because they care deeply about their kids’ growth and development – and that comes from a loving place,” Shary said. “If you’ve been using dessert only as a reward or bribe, you haven’t failed – you were doing what you thought was best. You can always try something new, like offering a small dessert with a meal or snack without strings attached. When dessert is treated as simply another food, kids build a healthier, more positive relationship with eating that can benefit them for life.”

Finally, remember the vibe at the dinner table can be so much more important than what’s being served. “Creating a positive mealtime environment where kids feel safe, heard and included often matters just as much as what’s on their plate,” Abraham said.

“Gut health is as much emotional as it is nutritional,” Akande reminded parents. “When we remove shame and pressure from eating, we support the nervous system and kids digest better. The most ‘integrative’ thing we can offer is a relaxed, joyful relationship with food.

The economic pain at home and civilian death in the Middle East wrought by President Donald Trump’s war on Iran could hit new levels in the coming days if he follows through on an oft-repeated threat to destroy Iran’s entire electrical infrastructure.

Trump says an attack, which would almost certainly be a war crime, will come if Iran does not agree to a “deal” by Tuesday night. That country’s leaders will likely hit back in kind against Gulf states that are helping the United States, according to military and Iran experts.

“Iran’s only retaliatory capability is to target America’s immediate allies in the Gulf, and Israel, if possible,” said Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Iran has, since the war began, struck military targets used by US forces in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. It has also targeted civilian infrastructure, but attacks on its own civilian infrastructure are likely to prompt further escalation. One especially life-threatening possibility is attacks on the Gulf states’ water desalination plants, which are even more critical to those predominantly desert countries than the ones in Iran.

“Iran has already demonstrated both its willingness and ability to retaliate in kind should the US and Israel escalate strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure,” said Mona Yacoubian, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“Bahrain and the UAE are among the likely countries to be hit. Israeli targets may prove more challenging, but Iran will certainly attempt to lash out at Israel as well.”

Such retaliation would dramatically increase the human suffering Trump’s war has already brought to the region, particularly if the damage to desalination plants reduces critical drinking water supply for residents.

Thirteen US service members have died in the war, with hundreds more injured. US and Israeli strikes in Iran have also killed at least 1,500 civilians, according to a human-rights group, including 175 at a girls school in the first hours of the attack.

Iran is also likely to hit more oil production and distribution facilities in the region, which could further inflame the world’s oil market. Crude oil prices have increased about 50% since Trump launched the war, with petrol prices up more than a dollar a gallon in America.

Industry executive Matt Randolph, though, points out that it could get even worse if Iran, with its Houthi allies in Yemen, chooses to close the entrance to the Red Sea as it has already done at Hormuz, the entrance to the Persian Gulf.

“If the response by Iran is to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and I believe they will, then oil prices jump a lot,” he said. “They did it briefly in 2024 just for fun. Just to see if they could.”

The Houthis attacked commercial shipping that year in retaliation for Israel’s total war approach in Gaza that wound up killing many tens of thousands of civilians there. Red Sea traffic was reduced dramatically for a period.

These possibilities did not appear to concern Trump on Monday. Speaking to reporters at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, he said Iran was not ready to accede to his demands to end the war.

“They just don’t want to say ‘uncle.’ They don’t want to cry, as the expression goes, ‘uncle,’ but they will. And if they don’t, they’ll have no bridges, they’ll have no power plants, they’ll have no anything. I won’t ― I won’t go further, because there are other things that are worse than those two,” he said.

Hours later at a White House news conference he called to celebrate the recovery of two Air Force crew members whose F-15 fighter plane was shot down in Iran late last week, Trump repeated that his deadline for Iran to capitulate was just over a day away.

“We’re giving them till tomorrow, eight o’clock eastern time, and after that they’re going to have no bridges, they’re going to have no power plants. Stone Ages. Yeah, Stone Ages,” he said.

Asked whether that level of destruction would not necessarily harm civilians, Trump claimed that everyday Iranians want to be attacked.

“They would be willing to ― they would be willing ― and it’s suffering. They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom. The Iranians have ― and we’ve had numerous intercepts: ‘Please keep bombing,’ bombs that are dropping near their homes, ‘Please keep bombing, do it.’ And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding,” he said. “And when we leave and we’re not hitting those areas, they’re saying, ‘Please come back, come back, come back.’ These are the people.”

What precisely he wants from Iran, however, remains unclear. On several occasions since he began his air attack on February 28, Trump demanded regime change in Iran, but on Monday he said the regime has already changed. He continues to insist that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon while also saying that their programme to make one was “obliterated” in last June’s attacks.

And on Monday, he would not even say that reopening the Strait of Hormuz to unfettered oil tanker traffic was an absolute must ― which was the subject of his Easter demand that Iran “Open the Fuckin’ Strait” – because Iran could effectively close the strait merely by claiming to have laid mines in it.

“They’re very good bullshit artists,” he said.

Trump also again refused to lay out what plan he has, if any, to conclude the war. “I have the best plan of all, but I’m not going to tell you what my plan is,” he said.

He also waxed poetic about an era when larger countries could steal natural resources from smaller ones — known as “pillaging” and defined as a war crime by the Geneva Conventions — and wished he could “take” Iran’s oil.

“I’ve said, why don’t we use it — ‘To the victor, go the spoils’ — and we don’t have that. We haven’t had that in this country probably in 100 years, because even the Second World War, you look at the Second World War, we didn’t have it with the Second World,” he said, before adding that he is good at languages and can probably get elected president of Venezuela after he leaves the White House.

Trump has not ruled out using troops for a ground assault, but has not assembled anywhere near the size of a force necessary to seize and hold Iran’s oil production infrastructure.

When asked specifically whether he was trying to wind the war down or ramp it up, Trump responded: “I can’t tell you. I don’t know.”

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Donald Trump has doubled down on his threat to take out Iran by claiming the entire country could be wiped out in one night.

The US president claimed over the weekend that Tehran had until Tuesday evening to open the major oil shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, or face total wipeout.

In a post on TruthSocial on Tuesday, he said: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!

“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

The country closed the waterway, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil supply, in response to US-Israeli strikes five weeks ago – knocking the global economy in the process.

While describing the US military’s “historic” mission to rescue two airmen from Iran during a press conference on Monday, the president interrupted himself to reissue his warning.

“The entire country could be taken out in one night. And that night might be tomorrow night,” the president said.

During an earlier Easter address, Trump claimed Iran is “not too strong at all” compared to a month ago, when the US-Israeli strikes began.

He also told the press that the US would target Iranian civilian infrastructure if it does not surrender.

“And if they don’t, they’ll have no bridges. They’ll have no power plants. They’ll have no anything,” Trump said.

Then he claimed he “won’t go further, because there are other things that are worse than those two”, adding: “If I had my choice, what would I like to do? Take the oil.

“Because it’s there for the taking. There’s not a thing they can do about it.

“Unfortunately the American people would like to see us come home. If it were up to me, I’d take the oil, I’d keep the oil […] make plenty of money and I’d also take care of the people of Iran.”

The president also upped his attacks on UK prime minister Keir Starmer, comparing him to Neville Chamberlain who championed the appeasement policy for Adolf Hitler prior to World War 2.

As we age, it’s natural for our bodies, minds and everyday lives to change. And those shifts bring about changes to our sexuality, too.

But different doesn’t necessarily mean bad. It’s very much possible to have satisfying sex well into your 60s and beyond, even if it’s not the same kind of sex you had in your younger years.

For some, that may mean trying different sex positions that honour their current body and its abilities, while also exploring other intimate acts that don’t necessarily include penetration.

“Getting older is not about trying to be able to do the same sexual activities you’ve always done before,” clinical sexologist and sexuality educator Lawrence Siegel told HuffPost, “but to find positions and paces that are more comfortable and make the sexual act more enjoyable.”

“If sex is painful or uncomfortable, it leads to disappointment and avoidance, which detracts from the quality of life for both individuals and couples,” he added.

Finding ways to be more present and comfortable in your body and less caught up in your thoughts can make sex much more pleasurable at any age.

“People who enjoy sex over their lifespan all report being able to enjoy first and foremost being in their bodies,” said sex therapist Nan Wise, author of Why Good Sex Matters.

“Rather than thinking so much about how our bodies look to others, the ability to feel connected with the sensations in our bodies and appreciate all that’s right with our bodies, rather than focus on how we think our bodies should look and feel, is key to lifelong sexual potential.”

We asked sex experts which positions they recommend for folks in their 60s and beyond.

In the classic missionary sex position, the receiving partner is lying flat on their back, while the penetrating partner is on top of them and they’re facing one another. In this variation on missionary, the receiving partner lays on their back with their legs in the air and places a pillow beneath their lower back. It’s a great option if standard missionary puts too much pressure on the penetrating partner’s hips or back, said sex therapist Jesse Kahn.

“If they’re on a bed, the penetrating partner then stands at the edge of the bed. This gives the partner lying down additional support while the partner standing up is able to use more of their body for force, rather than predominantly their hips,” Kahn, the director of the Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center in New York City, told HuffPost.

Sixty-nining is when two partners are giving and receiving oral sex simultaneously. The inverted position of the two bodies – their face by your genitals, your face by their genitals – sort of looks like the numbers 6 and 9, hence the name.

Traditionally, 69ing is done with one partner lying on their back and the other on top, straddling their partner’s face. But you can also do it lying on your sides, facing one another.

“You can play around with positions based on each person’s needs, such as one partner being on top of the other or the sideways 69,” Kahn said. “The sideways 69 reduces stress on the joints and body to hold yourself up by having both partners laying on their sides. Of course, being on a soft surface, such as a bed, can help with comfort and reduce stress on the body as well.”

Also known as “supported rear entry,” the speed bump is a position that involves the receiving partner lying on their stomach with a pillow (wedged-shaped ones can be useful here) beneath their hips, with the penetrating partner on top in a tabletop position, entering from behind.

“This position allows the bottom partner to control the depth and angle of the penetration,” said Siegel. “It can also make it easier to hit the G-spot, as well as giving more control to those that find deep penetration either comfortable or uncomfortable. There can also be added clitoral or penile stimulation by grinding against the pillow or bolster underneath.”

For a non-penetrative option, you can have the person on top lay face down, across the back of the partner on the bottom.

“This can be particularly fun when a good massage oil is added and it becomes about bodies rubbing against each other and does not have to involve penetration at all,” Siegel said.

“In situations where both partners have vulvas, this position affords the person on top to grind their clitoris and vulva against the buttocks of the person below. It can also be an ideal position for strap-on play, even in the absence of physical limitations.”

Doggy style is when the receiving partner is on all fours and the penetrating partner kneels and enters them from behind. Kahn recommends this one for folks with lower mobility and hip pain, but notes that it might not be so comfortable for people with certain types of back pain.

For additional support, the receiving partner can also try placing a pillow (or a sex wedge, if they have one) beneath their pelvic area.

“In this position, you can also play around with your leg position, such as wide-legged, based on each person’s body’s needs,” Kahn said.

When spooning, “both partners are lying on their sides, facing the same direction, with the back of one partner against the front of the other,” Siegel explained.

The benefit of this position: It allows you to explore many different types of stimulation without a whole lot of physical effort, he said, such as “reaching over and playing with your partner’s breasts, vulva, penis or belly, holding them close as you press against them,” Siegel said.

“This could be a good position for entering your partner’s vagina or anusor just sliding your penis between your partner’s thighs if full intercourse is not desired. This can be helpful for those with limited mobility, knee or back pain or upper-body weakness.”

Remember that sex doesn’t need to be centered around genital penetration to be pleasurable. For many older adults, “it’s about sharing intimacy, affection and emotional gratification,” Siegel said.

The original version of this story was published on HuffPost at an earlier date.