U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that a “ whole civilization will die tonight ” but said Iran still has time to capitulate and reopen the Strait of Hormuz ahead of a deadline the president set for
8 p.m. in Washington.
Trump has yet to weigh in on a proposal for a two-week ceasefire with Iran, made by Pakistan’s prime minister on social media, who also called on Iran to open the strait during the truce as a "goodwill gesture."
Trump on Monday threatened to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Such destruction would be so far-reaching that some experts in military law said it could constitute a war crime.
The U.S. has already struck military targets on Tuesday on the Iranian oil hub of Kharg Island, according to a White House official, while Israeli warplanes struck bridges and railways in Iran.
Here is the latest:
The U.S. president threatening to destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure and bridges said the country can’t use its citizens as human shields.
“Totally illegal,” Trump said in a phone call with NBC News. “They’re not allowed to do that.”
Trump was also asked about his reasons for saying on social media that “a whole civilization will die tonight” and Trump answered by saying: “You’ll have to figure that out.
Trump has yet to weigh in on the request for further negotiations with Iran made over social media by Pakistan’s prime minister, but he plans to address the call to push back his deadline for attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure and bridges by two weeks.
“The President has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an emailed statement.
In a post on X, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, “diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future.”
“To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks.” he said. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the post.
“Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open the Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture,” he added. “We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region.”
“We know what it means when leaders call for communities and populations to be wiped out,” Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said in a statement. “Any suggestion that this advances Jewish or Israeli safety is simply an exploitation of our community to advance horrific war crimes and the President’s broader extreme anti-democratic agenda.”
Spitalnick’s council describes itself as a “mainstream Jewish organization.” It believes in the need for Israel to serve as a Jewish homeland, but often criticizes policies of the current Israeli government.
She urged people to recognize “multiple truths:” that Iran’s government is repressive and dangerous, and the Trump administration is increasingly flouting its constitutional and humanitarian obligations.
Americans are less confident in the president’s decision-making on Iran than they were last year, according to a new Pew Research Center poll, with drops among Republicans and Democrats.
About one-third of U.S. adults are “very” or “somewhat” confident Trump can make good decisions when it comes to U.S. policy toward Iran, according to the Pew poll conducted in late March. That’s down from 44% in August. Roughly two-thirds of Republicans have high confidence, down from 78% last year.
The poll also found about 7 in 10 Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about higher gas and fuel prices as a result of U.S. military action, with most Republicans and Democrats being worried. Majorities of Americans also worry about U.S. ground troops being sent into Iran, possible military casualties and potential terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.
“Today, as we all know, there was this threat against all the people of Iran. This is truly unacceptable,” Pope Leo XIV said, adding that any attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law.
In some of his strongest comments yet against the war, Leo urged Americans and others of goodwill to contact their political leaders and congressional representatives to demand they reject war and work for peace.
The remarks to reporters Tuesday came as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, just hours before Trump’s deadline for Iran to capitulate and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply troubled” by the statement suggesting that an entire people or civilization may bear “the consequences of political and military decisions,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Guterres didn’t name Trump but was clearly referring to the American leader’s warning to Iran earlier Tuesday that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t opened.
“There is no military objective that justifies the wholesale destruction of a society’s infrastructure or the deliberate infliction of suffering on civilian populations,” Guterres’ spokesman said.
The secretary-general reiterates that leaders can still choose “dialogue over destruction” and the choice for talks must be made now, Dujarric said.
Guterres calls for stepped-up diplomacy to find a path to peace and appeals for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the spokesman said.
In a statement released Tuesday, a U.N. official said that “based on available evidence,” a projectile fired from an Israeli tank on March 29 resulted in the death of one Indonesian peacekeeper.
“It is recalled that, to mitigate the risk to United Nations personnel, UNIFIL had again provided the Israel Defense Forces with the coordinates of all its positions and facilities on 6 March and 22 March,” the statement read.
Additionally, the March 30 episode that resulted in the death of two other Indonesian peacekeepers came after a improvised explosive device, most likely placed by Hezbollah, was discovered nearby.
“Allow me to reiterate that these are preliminary findings, based on initial physical evidence,” the statement continued, adding the full investigation processes of the U.N. will continue.
Israel’s military said Iran had launched missiles at the country Tuesday evening, the seventh time of the day.
Sirens sent people to shelters in the southern part of the country, while earlier salvos had been centered on the major metropolis of Tel Aviv, as well as central Israel and parts of the occupied West Bank.
Northern Israeli communities continued to come under fire from Hezbollah as well.
Sundown Tuesday marks the beginning of the last day of the Passover holiday, an especially important religious occasion in the Jewish calendar.
Earlier in the day, an elderly couple and their son, who were killed in a missile attack, were buried in Haifa.
House Democratic leaders in a joint statement called President Donald Trump “completely unhinged” and asked the House to be brought back immediately into legislative session.
“His statement threatening to eradicate an entire civilization shocks the conscience and requires a decisive congressional response,” said the joint statement from Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and four other top House Democrats.
“The House must come back into session immediately and vote to end this reckless war of choice in the Middle East before Donald Trump plunges our country into World War III,” the Democratic lawmakers said.
They called on House Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and “join Democrats in stopping this madness.”
Iranian envoy says Tehran will not “stand idle’ if Trump follows through on ‘war crime’ threats
Amir-Saeid Iravani, Tehran’s representative at the U.N., said that Trump’s threats earlier Tuesday that a “whole civilization will die” if Iran does not make a deal “constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide.”
During a Security Council session on the Strait of Hormuz, Iravani urged the international community to call out Trump’s rhetoric before it’s too late.
“Iran will not stand idle in the face of such egregious war crimes. It will exercise, without hesitation, its inherent right of self-defense and will take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures,” he said.
Top World Health Organization official warned about the long-term health risks caused by the continued military activity near an Iranian nuclear power plant.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director general, wrote on X that more military operations near the Russian-built Bushehr power plant, where hundreds of workers were evacuated following a strike recently.
“Such actions could lead to a severe radiological accident, with serious and long-term health consequences for people now and for generations to come, while also harming the environment across Iran, the region, and beyond,” he wrote.
An engineer in a construction company who lives in Tehran says hitting infrastructure, including some power plants, has already left many people unemployed.
“Because of this, workers and employees, and people who are losing their jobs and income are becoming against the war,” they said. “There is a huge amount of fear about tonight.”
Speaking to The Associated Press through a messaging app from Tehran, the engineer said only people who are financially able are buying generators to prepare for possible power outages. Just like the internet outage ... so they are less (doomed),” they said. But the fact is, everyone is impacted, the engineer added, speaking anonymously for his own safety.
The engineer said Trump’s threats still lack any clarity.
“People don’t know what his plan is.”
Hours ahead of a deadline he imposed on Iran to capitulate, President Donald Trump boosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday when Vice President JD Vance dialed him into a rally in Budapest.
Trump told the crowd gathered ahead of Hungary’s weekend election that he loves their country and praised Orban.
“You have a man that kept your country strong,” Trump said.
Vance spoke at the rally for Orban in the Hungarian capital, defending Western civilization and criticizing “bureaucrats in Brussels.”
The vice president attempted to dial the president in front of the crowd and first got an automated message saying the voicemail box wasn’t set up, to laughter from attendees. Soon after, he got Trump on the phone and put him on speaker for the crowd.
In Gaza City, dozens of people had to wade through flooded streets to reach a bread distribution point on Tuesday because of war-damaged drainage systems, AP footage showed.
A $1 bag of bread — about 15 loaves — is barely enough to feed large families, residents said.
Israel’s two-year war has been muted by a fragile ceasefire since October, but many in Gaza fear the Iran war is overshadowing urgent humanitarian needs and delaying reconstruction.
Jamal Hamad, a displaced resident from northern Gaza, said shortages of small bills are compounding the crisis, leaving many unable to pay. Digital options remain out of reach.
People waited for hours in the rain, pushing to reach the front as supplies ran low. Some resold bags for up to $6.
The King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, closed Tuesday for the second time as a precautionary measure following alerts issued by the National Early Warning Platform in the Eastern Province.
The King Fahd Causeway Authority said on X Tuesday evening vehicle traffic has been suspended.
American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad last week, has been released, an Iraqi official with direct knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said Kittleson was freed in the afternoon. He did not share her current whereabouts but said that before her release, she was being held in Baghdad.
The powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement earlier Tuesday that it had decided to free the journalist, and officials with the militia told The Associated Press that members of the group previously detained by Iraqi authorities would be released in exchange.
In an Easter message released Tuesday by the Vatican, Leo suggested a parallel between Christ’s crucifixion and the suffering of south Lebanese Christians.
“In your misfortune, in the injustice you endure, in the feeling of abandonment you experience, you are very close to Jesus. You are close to Him also on this Easter Day when He conquered the forces of evil, and which resonates for you as a promise of the future,” read the message.
The message was written in French, was signed by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and was addressed to the residents of the village of Debel.
A convoy carrying over 40 tons of aid led by the Vatican was supposed to have reached the Christian village of Debel for Easter, but was canceled for what Lebanon’s Maronite Church said were “security reasons.”
Leo visited Lebanon late last year on his first international trip as pope.
Two Republican senators warned Prime Minister Keir Starmer that altering the status of the U.S. military base on the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia could harm U.S.-U.K. relations, as the base plays a key role in operations tied to the Iran war.
Sens. Ted Cruz and Tommy Tuberville urged Britain to halt a planned transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, saying it would undermine U.S. national security.
Passage of the deal through the U.K. Parliament is on hold until American support can be regained.
The Trump administration initially welcomed the deal, but the president changed his mind in January, calling it “an act of GREAT STUPIDITY.”
The powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia known as Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement Tuesday that it will release American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad street last week.
The group said its decision came “in appreciation of the patriotic stances of the outgoing Prime Minister,” Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, without giving more details. It added that “this initiative will not be repeated in future.”
Kataib Hezbollah had not previously acknowledged that it was the group responsible for Kittleson’s abduction, although both U.S. and Iraqi officials had pointed fingers at the group.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news outlet confirmed Tuesday that an agreement was reached with Paris for the release of two French citizens, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, held in Iran over alleged espionage, in exchange for Iranian woman Mahdieh Esfandiari, who was detained over her social media content. The French government will also drop its case against Iran.
The French citizens had been holed up in the country’s diplomatic premises there since their release from prison.
The green light for them to leave Iran, long sought by France, signaled how Iran is differentiating between nations, treating some favorably and others as foes, in the context of the Iran war.
Responding to Trump saying “a civilization will die tonight,” an Iranian diplomat described the country’s civilization as a tree that nourished the West.
“Therefore, no fool would cut off the branch of a tree he is sitting on because he himself would fall first, and it is the sturdy tree that always stands, not the branches and appendages that have grown from it,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press.
Just before sunset on Tuesday — twice in less than half an hour — Israel’s military said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran.
Sirens went off in the Tel Aviv area as well as parts of the occupied West Bank.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday accused Iran of committing acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz by attacking commercial shipping vessels attempting to navigate the key waterway.
“The whole world has been impacted, unfortunately, because Iran is violating every law known by striking commercial vessels in the Straits of Hormuz,” Rubio told reporters at the State Department. “It’s a big problem for the world. I mean, this is a regime that doesn’t believe in laws and rules or anything like that. It’s a state sponsor of terrorism, so it is not surprising that they’re now conducting terrorist operations against commercial vessels.”
He declined to respond to a question about what Trump meant when he threatened that “a whole civilization will end tonight” if Iran does not meet U.S. demands to reopen the strait.
Lawmakers are on recess from Washington as Trump threatens to kill “a whole civilization” in the Iran war. So far, the reaction from Congress — which is supposed to have the ultimate say in matters of war — has drawn sharp rebukes from Democrats and mostly silence from Republicans.
Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro called on Trump to immediately make it clear that he is not considering using nuclear weapons, and Colorado Democratic Rep. Jason Crow warned that “calling for the elimination of a civilization is a war crime.”
Most Republicans stayed away from the issue, though Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast that he was “hoping and praying” that Trump’s threat was “bluster.”
“I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure,” Johnson said.
Democrats intend to force further votes on legislation to rein in Trump’s ability to attack Iran, but not until Congress returns to Washington next week.
The vetoes by Russia and China came despite the resolution being repeatedly weakened to get the two countries to abstain.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council on the Bahrain-sponsored resolution was 11-2, with Pakistan and Colombia abstaining. It came hours before Trump’s 8 p.m. Eastern deadline for Iran to open the strategic waterway or face attacks on its power plants and bridges.
Bahrain’s initial proposal would have authorized countries to use “all necessary means” — U.N. wording that would include military action — to ensure transit through the Strait of Hormuz and deter attempts to close it.
The final text eliminated Security Council authorization for offensive or defensive action. Instead, it “strongly encourages” countries using the Strait of Hormuz to coordinate defensive efforts to ensure safe navigation through the waterway, where about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
“Canada expects all parties in this conflict to respect international laws, the rules of engagement, and that means not targeting certainly civilians or civilian infrastructure,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “And we urge all parties in this war to follow those responsibilities.”
He made the comments Tuesday at an unrelated announcement outside Toronto.
Carney has at times been critical of Trump, who has previously threatened Canada’s sovereignty. Early in the war, Carney said he supported the strikes on Iran “with some regret” as they represented an extreme example of a rupturing world order.
The authorities say the explosive-laden drone hit a home in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
The drone dive-bombed and crashed into a house in the village of Zargazawi, in the province of Irbil, early Tuesday, killing a couple asleep in their bed. As the latest in a wave of Iranian bombardment of Iraqi Kurdistan, the attack underscored the rising danger to civilians in the area as the Islamic Republic retaliates against the United States and Israel by hitting their allies in neighboring countries.
The dead couple’s children, sleeping in a separate room, were unharmed. Surveying the damage to the home, Aladdin Jabbar, a cousin in the family, said the two bodies were torn beyond recognition.
“It was a huge injustice,” he said.
Regional authorities condemned the strike and urged the Iraqi government to do more to protect the Kurdish population.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reaffirming Pakistan’s “unwavering solidarity” with the kingdom and condemning a strike on an oil facility in Saudi Arabia earlier in the day.
According to a government statement, Sharif praised Saudi restraint amid the current tensions and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to advancing peace efforts aimed at de-escalating the region.
It said Sharif praised the “wisdom and sagacity” of Saudi leadership in exercising restraint during the ongoing conflict.
He also briefed the crown prince on the latest developments in Pakistan’s mediation efforts to ease the Middle East crisis. It said the crown prince appreciated Pakistan’s peace efforts.
Facing heavy bombardment, many middle-class residents of Iran’s capital have been waiting out the war in the country’s coastal north.
A young designer who lives in central Tehran said her parents left at the beginning of the war but she stayed behind to take care of her cat.
Now, she says she’s “terrified” by Trump’s threats and is planning to drive north with her cat to join her family — if the U.S. really does knock out power plants after Tuesday night’s deadline.
“If there is no electricity, there is no water because the water pressure in Tehran is low and all buildings have electric water pumps. You can’t cook either. In the north, you can at least do something in nature, like the ‘Stone Age’ that he promised,” she said.
The designer spoke on condition of anonymity for her safety.
Normally a popular vacation spot, the Caspian Sea coast is carpeted in forested mountains with plentiful water — unlike other areas which have suffered years of drought.
— Amir-Hussein Radjy
And more than 1 million people have been displaced, the country’s health ministry said.
Among the 1,530 killed are 102 women and 130 children are among the dead, as well as 57 paramedics, according to the government count.
The number of Hezbollah militants killed is unclear.
More than 4,800 people were also wounded in the war.
Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.
This latest war was sparked after Hezbollah fired rockets towards northern Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran also at war with Israel and the United States.
The military gave more details on the strikes following Netanyahu’s confirmation that he and Defense Minister Katz had ordered them.
In a statement, it said it struck bridges in Tehran, Karaj, Tabriz, Kashan, and Qom that were being used by Iranian forces to transport weapons and military equipment.
Sen. Chuck Schumer responded to President Trump’s dire threat against Iran by calling on Republicans to vote against the war.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, has joined with others in his party in forcing votes on legislation that would halt Trump from ordering further attacks on Iran unless he received congressional approval. So far, though, just a few Republicans have voted to rein in Trump’s power to order the attacks.
Schumer said on social media that any Republican who declines to vote “against this wanton war of choice owns every consequence” of Trump’s actions.
