American warplanes struck approximately 50 military targets on Iran’s crucial Kharg Island oil export hub overnight as President Donald Trump issued apocalyptic warnings that “a whole civilization will die tonight” hours before his Tuesday 8pm ET deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The bombardment destroyed bunkers, radar installations and ammunition storage facilities on the strategic island, with social media footage capturing extensive destruction as the Islamic regime showed no indication of capitulating to White House demands.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social, adding: “47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
Senior Iranian officials rejected ceasefire proposals conveyed through intermediaries according to Reuters, refusing to restore access to the Strait of Hormuz waterway through which 20 to 25 per cent of global seaborne petroleum transits.
The President has threatened strikes on civilian infrastructure including bridges and power plants—the conflict’s biggest escalation yet—if Tehran fails to comply by deadline expiration. “Very little is off limits,” Mr Trump stated during Monday’s White House press conference. “Every power plant will be destroyed, every bridge.”
Global oil markets have descended into chaos as the deadline approaches, with the International Energy Agency warning the conflict represents history’s largest energy supply disruption. Average US gas prices have rocketed to $4.14 nationwide—over a dollar higher since hostilities commenced 28 February.
Tehran responded to the ultimatum by threatening retaliatory strikes on desalination plants supplying Gulf allies’ water needs, with Iran’s UN envoy characterising Mr Trump’s deadline as “direct incitement to terrorism” providing “clear evidence of intent to commit war crimes under international law.”
The regime’s military command dismissed the President as “delusional” whilst investors remain frozen, hesitant to wager whether Mr Trump will execute threats or abandon them last-minute as occurred during previous deadline cycles.
Vice President JD Vance claimed during a Budapest press conference alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that “very shortly, this war will conclude,” insisting America has “largely accomplished its military objectives” whilst expressing hope for “a good resolution” through continued negotiations.
US-Israeli intelligence assessments shared with Gulf allies suggest Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains unconscious receiving treatment for “severe” medical conditions in Qom—87 miles south of Tehran—raising fundamental questions about genuine Iranian leadership during negotiations.
Global markets remain largely paralysed twelve hours before the deadline as Mr Trump’s pattern of issuing ultimatums before reversing course generates uncertainty about whether Tuesday represents genuine escalation or further brinkmanship.
