As the evening approaches, President Trump’s ultimatum to Iran looms large, with an 8 p.m. Eastern deadline set for negotiations. The atmosphere is tense, as fear spreads across the nation.

In anticipation of possible military action, anxious residents are reportedly fleeing major cities and bidding emotional farewells to loved ones. Meanwhile, government leaders in Iran have adopted a provocative strategy: instructing citizens to act as human shields by taking to the streets.

This directive was delivered by an Iranian official in a video clip shared by the Associated Press. Addressing the public in Farsi, he called on ‘youth, athletes, artists, students, and professors’ to gather at key infrastructure sites, such as power plants, the next day at 2 p.m. local time. The aim is to highlight any potential American attack as a war crime.

President Trump has been unequivocal about the consequences of Iran’s non-compliance. In a message on Truth Social, he starkly warned, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

Trump himself has left no room for ambiguity about what non-compliance means.

‘A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,’ he wrote on Truth Social.

With the President openly pledging a ‘Power Plant Day’ and ‘Bridge Day’ to dismantle Iran’s infrastructure, sources in Tehran and Isfahan describe scenes of chaos – road blockages, mass evacuations, and state television brazenly instructing citizens to gather around key sites with their children.

‘They are announcing on national TV – come to the streets and bring your children,’ one source with family inside Iran tells the Daily Mail. ‘It’s their thing to use people as human shields. Same pattern as in Palestine. They do this instead of surrendering or making a deal.’

‘In Iran, they are gathering in groups and sheltering around infrastructures, just because they know Trump said we will bomb these facilities. They are announcing this on national TV in Iran – to come to the streets and bring your children. It’s their thing to use people as human shields. Same pattern in Palestine. They do this instead of surrendering or making a deal,’ a source who communicated with family inside Iran tells the Daily Mail

Trump said he would target power plants and civilian bridges 

Iranians gathered at infrastructure sites including bridges and power plants as they taunted Trump’s message of annihilation 

Video showed women and children waving flags as chanting blared on a loudspeaker at a power plant

He added: ‘Government supporters will go. They are barbaric. They believe even if they die – even if their children die for the sake of Islam – they will end up in Heaven. My mom says every night they come onto the streets, chanting death to America, death to Israel. Even until midnight.’

Despite the terror, some anti–regime citizens see a glimmer of hope that the Ayatollah’s grip on the country might finally be shattered.

‘At the end of Trump’s message, you can clearly see he mentioned that 47 years of death and corruption will end – so that means no more Islamic tyranny,’ the source added.

But Trump’s ultimatum appears to be explicitly about Iran’s nuclear program, not regime change. His public messaging has framed a successful deal in terms of denuclearization, not necessarily toppling the entire Islamic Republic.

Trump’s rhetoric has left many Iranians conflicted. One points to the tension at the heart of his message: ‘It’s paradoxical – he says a whole civilization will die tonight, but also blesses the great people of Iran.’

Across the country, citizens are bracing for the worst. Supermarket shelves are being stripped bare as people stockpile ahead of threatened rolling blackouts and severed supply chains. One Iranian says he and his family have already stocked up on water and supplies – but fear cuts both ways.

‘They are very stressed,’ he says, ‘but at the same time, if this war ends now, it would literally be a living hell – because the government would retaliate.’

For many, the regime is as frightening a prospect as American airstrikes. The government’s crackdown on communications has prompted a wave of digital self-erasure: two Iranians – one in Tehran, one in Isfahan – are already saying their goodbyes and frantically deleting message threads with contacts abroad.

Women and children are forming human shields at Iranian infrastructure sites 

The regime’s paranoia has led to severe crackdowns on communications, prompting many to sever ties with the outside world. Two Iranians, one in Tehran and one in Isfahan, are already saying goodbye to their friends and family and frantically deleting messages

US Navy fighter jets take off from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during Operation Epic Fury

Global oil markets have spun out of control as Trump’s deadline nears and Iran refuses to reopen the strait

The US hit dozens of military targets on Kharg Island, a crucial Iranian oil export hub, overnight

‘My internet connection keeps cutting out for long periods. If our chat stays on Instagram, it could put me in serious danger – the regime randomly connects people’s phones to the internet in the streets and checks their apps. I have to delete our chat. Wishing you a path full of success.’

That was Bahareh’s last message. She asked that her surname not be published.

For those with the means, leaving the city is the only option. Major roads are jammed with families fleeing to remote areas, far from the power grids and military installations likely to be in the crosshairs. 

One Iranian says his entire family has relocated to his uncle’s villa in the countryside. ‘They are safer there, it is a pretty calm and peaceful place,’ he said, declining to say where.

With hours left until the 8 p.m. deadline, the world is watching to see whether last-minute diplomacy can pull back from the brink – or whether Iran goes dark tonight.