President Donald Trump has given Iran until 8pm Washington time on Tuesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power plants and bridges, setting up what could be the most consequential hours of a five-week-old war that has already killed more than 3,400 people across the Middle East.
Tehran has rejected proposals put forward by the United States, and Trump dismissed a 10-point Iranian counter-offer on Monday as “not good enough.”
Iran is instead demanding a permanent end to the conflict, not a temporary pause it says would allow Washington and Israel to regroup.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday morning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if no deal is reached. The remark drew immediate condemnation from human rights groups and some members of his own political base.
Former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and far-right media figure Alex Jones both called for Trump’s removal from office under the 25th Amendment.
Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, said Trump was “openly threatening collective punishment” of civilians, which would violate the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The United Nations has also warned that destroying civilian infrastructure could constitute war crimes.
The conflict, which began on 28 February with joint US and Israeli strikes, has reshaped the global energy market. American petrol prices have surged to a national average of US$4.14 a gallon, a rise of nearly 39 per cent since hostilities started.
Brent crude traded above US$110 a barrel on Tuesday as investors weighed the threat of further escalation.
Iran’s closure of the strait, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes, remains the central point of contention.
Iran’s parliament has passed a bill to formalise toll collection on vessels transiting the waterway, though the route remains largely blocked.
When asked about the tolls, Trump replied: “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them. We’re the winner. We won.”
On the ground, the war continues to intensify. The US military carried out “dozens” of strikes against military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, according to a senior US official.
Also read: Armed Men Storm Building With Israeli Consulate in Istanbul.
Israel’s military said it struck three airports in Tehran, Iran’s largest petrochemical complex serving the South Pars gasfield, and a petrochemical facility in Shiraz.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said strikes near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant “pose a very real danger to nuclear safety and must stop.”
Israeli strikes hit a railway bridge in Kashan, killing two people, according to Iranian state media. Additional bridges were struck on Tuesday morning across Isfahan province, the Tabriz to Zanjan freeway, and rail infrastructure near Karaj.
Israel’s military issued a warning to Iranian citizens that their “presence on trains and near railway lines endangers your life.”
Iran’s response has been defiant. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said around 14 million Iranians had answered a government call for volunteers to fight.
Iran’s deputy minister of youth and sports called on young people to form a “human chain” around the country’s power plants.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dismissed Trump’s threats as “baseless” and vowed to continue fighting.
Diplomatic channels remain fragile. Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have all acted as mediators, but indirect talks stalled last week.
Egyptian officials told NPR that Iran is open to a 45-day ceasefire that guarantees a permanent end to the war, during which Tehran would discuss reopening the strait. Trump has said he is “highly unlikely” to extend his deadline.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran by US and Israeli strikes, according to the country’s deputy health minister.
At least 1,400 have died in Lebanon, 23 in Israel, and 13 US service members have been killed in action.
