The clock is ticking down to US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to strike a deal and open the Strait of Hormuz – or be heavily bombed and face “hell.”
Trump had set 8 p.m. ET Tuesday (Wednesday 3:30 a.m Tehran time) as the time to make a deal by. However, he has made similar ultimatums on several occasions in recent weeks, delaying the deadline each time. And his threat is highly controversial, with many pointing out that targeting civilian infrastructure amounts to a war crime.
Here’s what to know.
What has Trump said?
The president set the deadline in a Truth Social post on Sunday, after issuing a profane message renewing threats to bomb key Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not open the strait –– a chokepoint in the global energy trade.
Speaking again on Monday, Trump said the US has a plan under which every bridge and power plant in Iran could be destroyed by midnight Tuesday. “I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock,” Trump said.
He has previously threatened to hit other Iranian infrastructure including oil wells and water desalination plants.
What has Iran said?
Tehran has responded publicly with defiance so far, with one military commander calling Trump’s threats“baseless” and “delusional”on Tuesday.
“If attacks on non-civilian targets are repeated, our retaliatory response will be carried out far more forcefully and on a much wider scale,” warned Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, used by Iran’s armed forces.
And on Monday, a spokesperson from Iran’s foreign ministry urged Americans to hold their government responsible for what he described as an “unfair, aggressive war” against Iran.
Would this be a war crime?
Targeting critical civilian infrastructure could be considered a war crime. Objects indispensable to a population’s survival – including water treatment plants – are prohibited as military targets under the Geneva Conventions.
Infrastructure might be considered a valid target if it has a dual use for Iran’s military. But Trump has threatened to not just blow upsomeof Iran’s power plants; he’s threatened to blow upallof them.
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“There’s a lot of former military lawyers and legal scholars who have been very hesitant to say any bombing of civilian infrastructure is a war crime, because there are instances where you can do it. But the President’s rhetoric this weekend, for me and I think for many others, changed our opinion on that,” said Margaret Donovan, a former lawyer in the US Army’s JAG Corps.
“We’re seeing basically a direct threat to something that we know is going to be catastrophic to civilians.”
Several countries have privately reached out to the Trump administration to warn against such attacks, but most have so far avoided publicly rebuking the US president. These include some Gulf nations now worried that Iran could target their civilian infrastructure in retaliation, according to regional sources.
The Trump administration has largely shrugged off these concerns, with the White House saying last week that the US would “always” follow international law. When pressed about the issue on Monday, Trump said he wasn’t worried, and that the real war crime was “allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Tehran has already accused the US and Israel of targeting civilian infrastructure, with the bombing the majornew B1 Bridgejust outside the Iranian capital on Friday, and Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant struck by projectiles multiple times in recent weeks.
What about negotiations?
Trump claimed on Monday that Iran is an “active, willing participant” in negotiations to potentially end the war, and that talks with intermediaries are “going well.”
CNNreportedearlier Monday that Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have all been acting as mediators between the US and Iran but that indirect talks stalled last week and work toward an in-person meeting had appeared to end.
But diplomatic efforts hit a major obstacle on Monday after neither side agreed to a last-ditch proposal for a 45-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, drafted by countries working to end the war.
Trump called the proposal a “significant step” but said it is “not good enough,” adding that he’sthe only personwho can determine if there’s a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Iranrejected the proposal, saying a pause in fighting would allow adversaries to prepare for the continuation of the conflict.
According to Iranian state-run media, Tehran sent back a 10-clause response, calling for a permanent end to the war “in line with Iran’s considerations.”
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