Donald Trump recently announced that he is engaged in “heated negotiations” with Iran, as both nations deliberate over a proposed two-week ceasefire.
The President revealed that he has been briefed on a mediation proposal facilitated by Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary in the discussions with Iran. This comes ahead of a critical deadline set by the U.S., scheduled to expire at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Trump has issued a stern warning, pledging to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including its energy facilities, if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
When questioned about the ongoing talks, the President declined to provide details, telling Fox News, “I can’t comment, because right now we’re in heated negotiations.”
According to a senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters, Tehran is considering Pakistan’s request for a temporary ceasefire positively.
If the deadline is extended, it would mark the fourth time the President has adjusted his stance since initially threatening to “obliterate” Iran’s power infrastructure on March 21.
Trump posted on Truth Social this morning: ‘A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.’
Republican lawmakers expressed concerns that striking civilian infrastructure, a war crime under the Geneva Convention, would be a grave mistake.
Trump during a press conference in the James Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 6
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
Senator Ron Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, said: ‘I think it would be a huge mistake. I mean, he loses me if he attacks civilian targets. Whatever we do has to be within the laws of warfare.’
Johnson told the Wall Street Journal ‘we’re all hoping and praying – what we’re praying for is for the ayatollahs to capitulate.’
Democratic lawmakers have been even more forceful, calling for the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which strips the President of his powers in the event he is suffering from a medical crisis.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: ‘Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do.’
‘The Iranian regime has until 8pm Eastern Time to meet the moment and make a deal with the United States,’ she added.
Iran has warned that it will take ‘immediate and proportionate’ action if Trump follows through on his threats to attack the country.
Tehran’s United Nations representative, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said Trump’s threats ‘constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide.’
Facing the threat of devastating military strikes, terrified civilians told the Daily Mail they are frantically evacuating major cities and saying goodbye to loved ones.
The US hit dozens of military targets on Kharg Island, a crucial Iranian oil export hub, overnight
US Navy fighter jets take off from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during Operation Epic Fury
Trump said he would target power plants and civilian bridges
The defiant government is meanwhile placing human shields at infrastructure sites, with chilling video showing civilians including women and children waving flags at power plants and on bridges.
One Iranian says he and his family have already stocked up on water and supplies, fearing US strikes and the regime’s response.
‘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.’
The call to gather at infrastructure sites came directly from an Iranian official, captured in an Associated Press video clip.
Speaking in Farsi, he urged ‘youth, athletes, artists, students and professors’ to assemble at power plants the following day at 2pm local time, arguing that their presence would expose any American strike as a war crime.
