President Donald Trump issued a new threat against Iran on Tuesday, as his deadline to make a ceasefire deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz nears.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” the president said in a post on Truth Social.
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He addressed the deadline, calling it “one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World.”
He said 47 years of “extortion, corruption and death” will come to an end.
The president’s deadline for a deal was originally set for Monday, but he pushed it back, saying it was Iran’s last chance. He warned that “hell will reign down” if there’s no deal.
Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s representative to the United Nations, said Trump’s threats constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide,” according to The Associated Press. He said Iran would take “immediate” action if the U.S. proceeded with its plans to attack civilian infrastructure.
“Iran will not stand idle in the face of such egregious war crimes. It will exercise, without hesitation, its inherent right of self-defense and will take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures,” Iravani said.
Lawmakers weigh in
Trump’s latest comments have already drawn criticism, including from former Trump supporter and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. She shared a post on X on Tuesday, saying, “25TH AMENDMENT!!!
Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also responded, saying Trump is an “extremely sick person.”
“Each Republican who refuses to join us in voting against this wanton war of choice owns every consequence of whatever the hell this is,” Schumer wrote on X.
Iran, Trump refuse to back down
On Monday, Iran rejected the U.S. proposal for a 45-day ceasefire, saying it wants a permanent end to the war. Trump said if no agreement is reached, the U.S. will target Iran’s bridges and power plants, which critics have said would amount to war crimes.
“Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12:00 tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again,” Trump said. “And it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to.”
He added, “The entire country can be taken out in one night.”
Now, Iranian officials are calling on civilians to form human chains around power plants. In a post on social media, the country’s president said that millions have volunteered to defend Iran — including himself.
“Power plants are our national assets and capital,” Alireza Rahimi, identified by Iranian state television as the secretary of the Supreme Council of Youth and Adolescents, said in a video statement.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would “deprive the U.S. and its allies of the region’s oil and gas for years” and expand attacks across the Gulf region if the U.S. follows through on Trump’s threats.
In another post on Tuesday, Iran said, all power plants, energy infrastructure and similar companies within the region that have American shareholders “shall face complete and utter annihilation.”
While speaking in Hungary, Vice President JD Vance also commented on the war, saying it will end “very shortly.”
“The president has set a deadline for about 12 hours from now in the United States,” he said. “We’re going to find out, but there’s going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then, and I’m hopeful that it gets to a good resolution.”
Strikes continue
Ahead of the deadline, smaller-scale U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran continue. Plus, the U.S. launched additional strikes on Kharg’s Island overnight, a U.S. official said.
The strikes did not involve any U.S. troops on the ground, but rather airstrikes on the northern side of the Island. They struck military bunkers and storage facilities, air defense systems and other military facilities.
State media reported an airstrike on Iran’s Alborz province, northwest of Tehran, has killed at least 18 people and wounded two dozen others.
Israel’s military also confirmed Tuesday morning it had struck one of the last remaining facilities in Iran that makes the chemical components used in explosives, a petrochemical facility in Shiraz.
Airstrikes also pounded sites across Tehran, including in residential areas, late Monday night. Strikes were also were reported in Qom, the Shiite seminary city to the south of Tehran.
