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U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his threats to bomb power plants and bridges in Iran if the Islamic regime does not quickly agree to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
During a White House news conference that lasted more than an hour, Trump stood by his latest deadline — 8 p.m. ET Tuesday — for Tehran to lift the shipping blockade it imposed after the U.S. and Israel launched the war at the end of February.
Here’s a look at the key statements Trump made about that looming deadline — and what he is threatening to do if Iran does not comply.
What is Trump threatening to do?
What he said: “We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated … where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again.”
Why it matters: Trump is threatening a significant expansion of combat operations.
Until now, U.S. and Israeli strikes have largely targeted Iran’s military capabilities, particularly its ballistic missile infrastructure, navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities, along with attacks that killed key leaders of the regime in Tehran.
U.S. President Donald Trump renews his threats to ‘decimate’ Iran’s civil infrastructure as Iran rejects the latest ceasefire proposal.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Monday’s barrage against Iran would be the largest since the first day of the conflict, and warned the number of strikes would rise further on Tuesday ahead of the deadline.
“Then Iran has a choice. Choose wisely because this president does not play around,” Hegseth said.
Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli intelligence operative, predicts Iran will not back down even if the U.S. heavily strikes its infrastructure.
“The United States lacks a credible military option that can force Iran into submission,” Citrinowicz posted on X. “The assumption that pressure alone can break Tehran is not strategy, it is wishful thinking.”
Would hitting power plants, bridges be a war crime?
What he said: “No, not at all,” Trump said when a reporter asked whether he was concerned that hitting civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.
Why it matters: Trump says the U.S. could achieve “complete demolition” of Iran’s power plants and bridges in just four hours.
Elizabeth Shackleford, a former U.S. diplomat, says there is little point debating what she called the “legal minutiae” of whether such attacks would violate the Geneva Conventions.
Trump “is clearly communicating his will to commit war crimes,” Shackleford told CBC News Network on Monday. “He’s saying this, I believe, in an attempt to kind of threaten Iran back to the table.”
Trump shut down further questioning from the New York Times reporter who asked about the potential violation of U.S. and international law, ordering him to be quiet and dismissing him as fake. He also declined to rule out targeting clearly civilian infrastructure such as schools.
Is Strait of Hormuz Trump’s red line?
What Trump said: “We have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oil and everything else.”
Why it matters: Trump has flip-flopped multiple times over the past week on whether Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a condition for the U.S. to stop its bombing campaign. “I would say it’s a very big priority,” he said Monday when asked how important the strait was to any deal with Iran.
Last week, Trump appeared to shrug off responsibility for the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, saying the U.S. was “not going to have anything to do with” making it safe for commercial shipping because his country does not need it.
Then, on Sunday, he warned Iran in an expletive-filled social media post to “Open the Fuckin’ Strait” or face “living in Hell.”
Before the war began, roughly 20 per cent of global supplies of crude oil and liquified natural gas passed through the strait, most of it bound for Asian countries. Its virtual closure has triggered sharp increases in oil prices worldwide and pushed the average price of gas in the U.S. up nearly 40 per cent in just five weeks.
How firm is the deadline?
What Trump said: “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow [Tuesday] night.”
Why it matters: Trump has already extended his deadline three times.
In an expletive-laden social post on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump issued another threatening deadline to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or they would be ‘living in hell.’ Iran has consistently defied the U.S.’s pleas to open the key waterway, and it recently struck infrastructure targets in neighbouring Gulf Arab countries despite reports about a new temporary ceasefire proposal.
On March 21, Trump gave Tehran a 48-hour ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz or the U.S. would obliterate Iran’s power plants.
He told Monday’s news conference that it would have been “inappropriate” to launch attacks the day after Easter, because “I want to be a nice person.”
How close is a ceasefire deal?
What Trump said: “We have an active, willing participant on the other side. They would like to be able to make a deal.”
Why it matters: While a ceasefire agreement would be a logical first step toward ending the war, it is far from clear that Tehran is willing to accept the terms set out by the U.S.
“I can tell you they’re negotiating, we think in good faith. We’re going to find out,” Trump said Monday.
Shortly after his news conference, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Monday that the regime had rejected the latest proposal from mediators for a 45-day ceasefire and instead was seeking a permanent end to the war, along with guarantees against future strikes.
Trump also dismissed the ceasefire plan brokered by Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey as “not good enough.”
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