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Donald Trump issued his most bizarre and chilling warning yet on Tuesday, declaring that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran doesn’t capitulate to his demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. ET.
The president framed the moment as potentially one of the most consequential in world history, suggesting that decades of what he called “extortion, corruption, and death” could finally end.
According to reporting on the situation, the U.S. had already struck Iran’s Kharg Island, the country’s critical oil export hub, with military targets, including bunkers and storage facilities, hit overnight.
Trump’s rhetoric has escalated dramatically over the past 72 hours as his deadline approached.
On Saturday, he posted on Truth Social: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.” By
Sunday, he’d shifted the timeline again, posting an expletive-filled message threatening that “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.”
He later specified 8 P.M. Tuesday as the cutoff. During a White House news conference Monday, Trump doubled down, saying “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night” and claiming “every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night.”
Iran’s response has been defiant.
The Foreign Ministry officially rejected a U.S.-proposed 15-point peace plan, calling it “unrealistic” and refusing to negotiate “under the shadow of illegal sanctions, military threats, or coercion.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed that 14 million Iranians had volunteered to fight, posting on X: “I too have been, am, and will remain ready to give my life for Iran.”
Officials called on citizens to form human chains around power plants to protect them.
The Revolutionary Guard warned it would “deprive the U.S. and its allies of the region’s oil and gas for years” if Trump followed through on his threats.
When asked whether targeting power plants and bridges would constitute war crimes, Trump brushed off the concern entirely.
“No, not at all,” he said, adding that he believed most Iranians actually wanted the U.S. to “keep bombing” and were “willing to suffer” to gain freedom.
International humanitarian law experts strongly disagreed, with Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, telling NBC News that Trump was “openly threatening collective punishment” and that “attacking civilians is a war crime.”
