On the morning a hard deadline was set to fall, a president who had promised to destroy the bridges and power plants of a nation warned that an entire civilization might die before night unless a narrow strip of sea was reopened. Around him, the old machinery of diplomacy stirred: a Pakistani prime minister asking for two more weeks, a pope and a secretary-general reminding the world that a people's infrastructure is not a bargaining chip, and an Iranian envoy promising proportionate answer. It is the familiar shape of a war that has outgrown its own rules, where the gravest threats are spoken
Pakistan Seeks Two-Week Ceasefire as Trump Threatens Iran's Infrastructure Ahead of Deadline
Israeli civilians killed by Iranian missile strikes, Indonesian UN peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon, and hundreds of Bushehr workers evacuated; Tehran workers face job losses from infrastructure attacks.
"A huge amount of fear about tonight"
Mark
What actually happened on Tuesday?
Mimi
Trump set an 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening bridges and power plants. Pakistan's prime minister asked for a two-week pause.
Mark
Has Trump answered Pakistan?
Luke
Not publicly. The White House said only that a response will come. Anything beyond that is guesswork.
Mark
Why did the "civilization" line draw such a reaction?
Mimi
The pope, the UN and Iran's envoy all read it as a threat to civilians. Trump, asked what he meant, said people would have to figure it out.
Luke
Worth noting that the war crime point is the view of some military law experts, and Iran's genocide claim is Iran's own characterization.
Mark
What about the human cost?
Mimi
A family of three was buried in Haifa, peacekeepers died in Lebanon, and a Tehran engineer says jobs are vanishing.
Luke
The peacekeeper findings are preliminary, the UN says so itself.
Mark
And the polling?
Mimi
Pew found about a third confident in Trump on Iran, down from 44%.
Luke
That poll was taken in late March, before this deadline, so it doesn't capture reaction to the latest threat.
Le Pouls
- A deadline of 8 p.m. in Washington looms over Iran, with threats to destroy bridges and power plants if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed.
- Missiles keep flying between Iran and Israel, sirens sound across southern Israel, and Hezbollah fire presses on northern communities.
- Pakistan's prime minister has asked for a two-week pause and a ceasefire everywhere, while the White House says only that a response will come.
- The Pope, the UN secretary-general and the WHO have condemned the threats, and the WHO warns that strikes near Bushehr could trigger a radiological disaster.
- Congressional Democrats are pushing to bring the House back to vote on ending the war, and public trust in the president's Iran decisions has fallen to about a third.
On the morning a hard deadline was set to fall, a president who had promised to destroy the bridges and power plants of a nation warned that an entire civilization might die before night unless a narrow strip of sea was reopened. Around him, the old machinery of diplomacy stirred: a Pakistani prime minister asking for two more weeks, a pope and a secretary-general reminding the world that a people's infrastructure is not a bargaining chip, and an Iranian envoy promising proportionate answer. It is the familiar shape of a war that has outgrown its own rules, where the gravest threats are spoken aloud and the quiet work of pulling back has only just begun.
On the morning of the deadline, President Donald Trump warned that a "whole civilization will die tonight" and insisted Iran still had time to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before 8 p.m. in Washington. The threat had been building since Monday, when he vowed to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran if the strait stayed shut. Asked why he used such language, he told NBC News, "You'll have to figure that out."
The fighting was already raging. U.S. forces had struck military targets on Kharg Island, Israeli jets hit bridges and railways inside Iran, and Iranian missiles fell on Israel again and again. In Haifa, an elderly couple and their son, killed in a missile attack, were buried as the last day of Passover began at sundown.
The opening for talks came from Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks and asked Iran to open the strait for that period as a goodwill gesture. The White House said only that "a response will come."
Voices of conscience rose from many quarters. Pope Leo XIV called the threat against the people of Iran "truly unacceptable," and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged "dialogue over destruction." Iran's UN envoy warned of incitement to war crimes and promised reciprocal measures. In Washington, House Democrats demanded a vote to end the war.
The dangers reach beyond the battlefield. Warnings went out about pro-Iran hackers targeting industrial controllers, and the WHO cautioned that more strikes near the Bushehr nuclear plant could cause a severe radiological accident. Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon have died, and in Tehran a construction engineer said the attacks have already cost people their jobs and that there is "a huge amount of fear about tonight."
For now, the world waits on two answers: whether Trump grants the extension, and whether Iran reopens the strait.
On the morning of the deadline, President Donald Trump warned that a "whole civilization will die tonight," while insisting Iran still had time to give in and reopen the Strait of Hormuz before 8 p.m. in Washington. The day's reporting, compiled by The Associated Press, shows a war moving toward a hard line while diplomats, religious leaders and international officials tried to pull it back.
The threat had been building since Monday, when Trump said he would blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran if the strait stayed closed. Some experts in military law said destruction on that scale could amount to a war crime. Asked by NBC News why he used the language about a civilization dying, Trump told the network, "You'll have to figure that out." He also said it was "totally illegal" for Iran to put young people around power plants as human shields.
The fighting was already under way. A White House official said the U.S. had struck military targets on Kharg Island, Iran's oil hub, on Tuesday, and Israeli warplanes hit bridges and railways inside Iran. Iran, for its part, fired missiles at Israel seven times that day, according to the Israeli military. Sirens sent residents of southern Israel to shelters after earlier salvos aimed at Tel Aviv, central Israel and parts of the occupied West Bank. Hezbollah kept firing on northern Israeli communities. In Haifa, an elderly couple and their son, killed in a missile attack, were buried. Sundown marked the start of the last day of Passover.
The diplomatic opening came from Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X that efforts toward a peaceful settlement were progressing "steadily, strongly and powerfully," and asked Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks. He asked Iran to open the strait for the same period as a goodwill gesture, and urged all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere. Trump had not publicly answered. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an emailed statement that the president had been made aware of the proposal and that "a response will come."
Criticism arrived from several directions. Pope Leo XIV, speaking to reporters as he left Castel Gandolfo, called the threat against the people of Iran "truly unacceptable" and said attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law. He urged Americans to contact their representatives and demand they reject war. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, through spokesman Stephane Dujarric, said no military objective justifies wholesale destruction of a society's infrastructure, and urged "dialogue over destruction." Iran's UN envoy, Amir-Saeid Iravani, told the Security Council the threats amounted to incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide, and said Iran would take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures. House Democratic leaders, including Hakeem Jeffries and Katherine Clark, called Trump "completely unhinged" and demanded the House return to vote to end the war. Amy Spitalnick of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs rejected any claim that such threats advance Jewish or Israeli safety.
Other risks surfaced as well. The CISA, FBI and NSA warned that pro-Iran hackers had exploited internet-connected industrial controllers in several important sectors, intending to disrupt operations and cause financial harm. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that more strikes near the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear plant, where hundreds of workers were recently evacuated after a strike, could cause a severe radiological accident. The UN also said preliminary findings link an Israeli tank round on March 29 to the death of one Indonesian peacekeeper, and a likely Hezbollah roadside bomb to the deaths of two more on March 30.
Public confidence is slipping. A Pew poll from late March found about a third of U.S. adults trust Trump's Iran decisions, down from 44% in August, with Republican confidence falling from 78% to roughly two-thirds. About 7 in 10 worry about higher fuel prices. In Tehran, a construction engineer told the AP that attacks on infrastructure have already cost people jobs and that there is "a huge amount of fear about tonight."
What to watch now is whether Trump grants the two-week extension and whether Iran answers by reopening the strait.
Citations marquantes
The President has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come.— Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary
Today there was this threat against all the people of Iran. This is truly unacceptable.— Pope Leo XIV
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