Trump said a “whole civilisation will die tonight” ahead of the deadline for Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n
The deadline is set to end on Tuesday 8pm EDT, which is 1am Wednesday UK time<\/p>\n
US president has threatened to “decimate” bridges and power plants in Iran<\/p>\n
UN tells US that attacking civilian infrastructure is banned under international law<\/p>\n
Israel warns Iranians to avoid taking trains until 9pm local time as airstrikes hit Tehran<\/p>\n
Iran’s president says 14 million people have volunteered to sacrifice their lives in human chains around power plants<\/p>\n
The US has reportedly hit Iran’s Kharg Island again, ahead of Donald Trump\u2019s deadline for the regime to make a deal.<\/p>\n
A source told Associated Press that the US hit military targets on the island, which is Iran’s key oil export terminal.<\/p>\n
The strikes came hours ahead of a deadline president Trump has set for Iran to capitulate to his demands or face a major attack.<\/p>\n
He said on Tuesday morning that \u201c\u2019whole civilization will die tonight\u201d if Iran did not make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
“However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalised minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? <\/p>\n
“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”<\/p>\n
The deadline will end on Tuesday 8pm EDT, which is 1am Wednesday UK time.<\/p>\n
Trump has suggested that his latest deadline was final, saying he’d already given Iran enough extensions. <\/p>\n
Tehran earlier rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war.<\/p>\n
It has conveyed its own 10-point plan to end the fighting through Pakistan, a key mediator, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said.<\/p>\n
“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won\u2019t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran\u2019s diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. <\/p>\n
A regional official involved in talks said efforts had not collapsed.<\/p>\n
“We are still talking to both sides,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.<\/p>\n
First responders work at the site of a strike that destroyed parts of a synagogue and residential buildings in Tehran Credit: AP<\/p>\n
US deadline to Iran approaches<\/p>\n
US Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday the war in Iran would end “very shortly”, adding that the nature of the conclusion would “ultimately be up to the Iranians” and whether or not they wanted to be a “normal country”.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Hungary during a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orb\u00e1n, Vance said the US had “largely accomplished its military objectives” as he discussed the options he saw for the conflict’s end.<\/p>\n
“Pathway one, is where the Iranians decide they are going to be a normal country, they are not going to fund terrorism anymore, they are going to be part of the world’s system of commerce and exchange,” Vance said.<\/p>\n
“That’s going to mean much better things for them economically, that’s going to mean better things for the peace and safety of the world.”<\/p>\n
Option two would be the Iranians “don’t come to the table” and stay committed to “terrorising their neighbours”, Vance continued.<\/p>\n
The vice president made the comments at the same time Trump said “a whole civilisation will die tonight” as Iran approaches his deadline to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n
US Vice President JD Vance said the US war in Iran would conclude soon Credit: AP<\/p>\n
Trump has issued ultimatums to Iran before, only to find ways to back off, but he was more explicit this time on plans to follow through.<\/p>\n
“Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o\u2019clock tomorrow night,\u201d the president said, and all power plants will be \u201cburning, exploding and never to be used again.”<\/p>\n
Asked if he was concerned about accusations of the US committing war crimes, Trump responded, \u201cNo, not at all.” <\/p>\n
He suggested that Iranians want the US to carry out its threats because it could lead to the end of their current leadership.<\/p>\n
Iranian citizens are \u201cwilling to suffer,” he said, “in order to have freedom.\u201d <\/p>\n
But there has been no sign of an uprising in Iran as residents shelter from bombardment.<\/p>\n
Trump has threatened to decimate Iran’s power plants unless they meet the deadline Credit: AP<\/p>\n
New strikes overnightActivists reported a new wave of strikes on Tehran early Tuesday. Israel claimed credit but offered no immediate details on what had been targeted.<\/p>\n
It came as the Israeli military warned Iranians in Farsi on Tuesday to avoid taking trains until at least 9pm local time, likely signalling a new target for its airstrikes.<\/p>\n
“Your presence puts your life at risk,” the warning, in a post on X, read.<\/p>\n
Iran has shut off access to the internet for weeks, making it difficult for average Iranians to see these warnings.<\/p>\n