US President Donald Trump on Monday warned that Iran could be taken over in one night, saying the operation could be carried out “maybe tomorrow night.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said,
“The entire country could be taken out in one night. And that night might be tomorrow night.”
Trump’s warning that Iran could be taken over overnight comes hours before a deadline he set for the Islamic Republic to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz.
The US President was accompanied by his top national security advisers, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Also in attendance are his children, Eric and Tiffany Trump, as well as their spouses.
Declaring that “this was one of our better Easters,” Trump started his news conference by speaking about the dramatic rescue of two US airmen in Iran over the weekend.
He began describing the rescue efforts from Friday and over the weekend after two airmen ejected and landed alive “deep in enemy territory” in Iran.
Trump said 21 aircraft were deployed to help with the search and rescue in the first wave, flying for hours under “very, very heavy enemy fire.” He said the US has one helicopter with many bullets in it.
Under the gaze of First Lady Melania Trump and a mascot dressed as a giant Easter bunny, Donald Trump doubled down on his threats at the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday morning before addressing reporters.
“If they don’t, they’ll have no bridges, no power plants, no anything. I won’t go further because there are other things that are worse than those two,” Trump said near the South Lawn.
In an expletive-laden social media post early Sunday, the US President had threatened strikes on Iran’s civilian infrastructure beginning Tuesday, before pushing the deadline by a day.
Even as the rhetoric escalated, Trump said a ceasefire proposal on the table was a “very significant step,” but not enough to end the conflict.
The remarks came after the White House confirmed that a deal for a reported 45-day truce was under consideration.
“It’s a significant proposal, it’s a significant step. It’s not good enough, but it’s a very significant step,” Trump said on the sidelines of the Easter event.
“They are negotiating now,” he added. “We’ll see what happens.”
Iranian state media said Tehran had rejected the truce, describing it as an “American proposal.”
Several countries are attempting to find a diplomatic off-ramp to the 38-day conflict, triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with Tehran responding through missile and drone attacks across the region.
