Update: As previously reported by The Dallas Express, President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening that the United States will suspend bombing and attacks on Iran for two weeks if Tehran agrees to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.” In a Truth Social post, Trump described the proposed pause as a “double sided CEASEFIRE!”
President Donald Trump has warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran agrees to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his 8 p.m. ET deadline, as the White House said Tuesday afternoon that the deadline remained in place.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday afternoon that Iran has until 8 p.m. Eastern to “make a deal” and that “only the President knows where things stand and what he will do.”
Even before the deadline, the U.S. military struck dozens of military targets on Kharg Island, Iran’s key oil export hub, overnight, a U.S. official told NBC News. Broader reporting also indicated that strikes hit bridges, rail targets, oil sites, and other military infrastructure across Iran ahead of the deadline.
Regional governments also took precautions as the deadline approached. Kuwait urged residents to stay home overnight, while the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain advised Americans there to shelter in place.
U.S. Central Command also said American forces launched one-way attack drones into Iran and that hundreds of U.S. drones are now integrated into offensive and defensive operations.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded defiantly, warning it would “deprive the U.S. and its allies of the region’s oil and gas for years” if Trump follows through. Iranian officials called on young people to form human chains around power plants and other sites. State media published photos purporting to show civilians standing outside locations, including the Dezful bridge and the Shahid Rajaee power plant in Qazvin.
Iran’s U.N. envoy also warned the country would take “immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures” if Trump follows through on threats to strike civilian infrastructure.
Human rights expert Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said Trump is “openly threatening” a war crime.
“Trump is openly threatening collective punishment, targeting not the Iranian military but the Iranian people,” Roth told NBC News. “Attacking civilians is a war crime. So is making threats with the aim of terrorizing the civilian population.”
Trump said Monday he was “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes.
Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking in Hungary, said the conflict could conclude “very shortly” but that “the nature of the conclusion is ultimately up to the Iranians,” NBC reported.
Negotiations have focused on “what does this look like afterwards,” Vance added. “We’re going to find out, but there’s going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then, and I’m hopeful that it gets to a good resolution.”
Iran has publicly rejected a temporary ceasefire proposal but described diplomacy as being at a “critical, sensitive stage.”
Oil prices surged as the deadline neared. U.S. crude climbed above $115 a barrel, while Brent crude remained above $110.
The Strait of Hormuz carries about 20% of global oil exports, making the standoff a major risk to global energy markets.