Trump warns “whole civilization will die tonight” as Iran deadline nears
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if an agreement is not reached to end the conflict by his Tuesday deadline, but said Iran still has time to capitulate.
The American leader issued the stark threat Tuesday, about 12 hours ahead of his deadline for Iran to agree to a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz or face punishing strikes.
"We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World," Trump wrote on his Truth Social website.
Iran showed no sign of acceptingTrump's ultimatum to open the Strait by the end of Tuesday.
As the clock ticked down on Trump's deadline, strikes on Iran intensified throughout the day, hitting railway and road bridges, an airport and a petrochemical plant and knocking out power lines, according to Iranian media.
Explosions were reported on Kharg Island, home to Iran's oil export terminal, which Trump has openly mused about destroying or seizing.
Iran responded by declaring it would no longer hold back from hitting its Gulf neighbours' infrastructure, and claimed to have carried out fresh strikes on a ship in the Gulf and Saudi industrial facilities linked to US firms.
"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump said in his post on Truth Social.
"However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World."
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran had rejected a proposal conveyed by intermediaries of a temporary ceasefire.
Talks on a lasting peace could begin only after the U.S. and Israel end their strikes, provide a guarantee they will not resume and offer compensation for damages, the Iranian source said, adding that any future settlement must leave Iran in control of the strait, imposing fees on ships that use it.
Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. in Washington (midnight GMT and 3:30 a.m. in Tehran) to end its blockade of Gulf oil, saying he will otherwise destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran within four hours. Iran says it will retaliate against infrastructure of US allies in the Gulf, whose desert cities would be uninhabitable without power or water.
Despite the intensification of strikes on the ground and rhetoric from both sides, global markets were largely frozen, hesitant to bet on whether Trump would follow through on his threats or call them off as he has in the past.
Among the reports of strikes inside Iran throughout the day were attacks on railway bridges, a highway bridge, a petrochemical plant and an airport. Power was knocked out in parts of Karaj just west of Tehran by a strike on transmission lines and a substation.
Israel warned Iranians in a Persian-language social media post to stay away from trains, saying anyone near railways would be in danger. — Agencies
