President Donald Trump said the entirety of Iran “could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night”—escalating his threats against the Middle Eastern nation as it approaches a deadline he set over the weekend to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before it is “living in Hell.”
Trump gave Iran a deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or “all Hell will reign down on them.”
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Key Facts
Trump’s threat comes only hours after Iran rejected a temporary ceasefire proposal, multiple outlets reported.
Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Cairo, told the Associated Press Iran “won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” adding, “We can only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”
Iran reportedly sent their own peace proposal through Pakistan, multiple outlets reported citing Iranian state media.
However, Trump implied the U.S. already rejected this proposal—speaking to reporters at Monday’s White House Easter Egg Roll, Trump called Iran’s offer “a significant proposal,” but immediately added, “it’s not good enough, but it’s a very significant step.”
Trump also insisted his deadline of Tuesday night at 8 p.m. EDT for Iran to make a ceasefire deal would be his final deadline—one day after threatening the country’s power plants and bridges.
Trump also claimed the U.S. was “obliterating” Iran, and said, “they just don’t want to say ‘uncle,’ they don’t want to cry as the expression goes, ‘uncle,’ but they will,” adding that if they don’t, “they will have no bridges, they will have no power plant, they will have no anything.”
Key Background
The push for a ceasefire or peace deal comes after more than five weeks of war in the Middle East. Trump and other White House officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have repeatedly predicted the war would last four to five weeks, and it is unclear if either side is ready to commit to a ceasefire. Air strikes from U.S. and Israeli forces have killed scores of Iranian leaders, including the country’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic, causing the global price of oil to skyrocket—as well as average gasoline prices in the United States, which were as high as $4.07 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy.
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