Trump extends his Iran deadline after hurling threats in expletive-laden post
Washington DC - President Donald Trump on Sunday appeared to extend by 24 hours his deadline for Iran to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating infrastructure attacks that could constitute a war crime.
"Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!" he simply said on his Truth Social platform.
The new deadline would mean another day for Tehran to attempt to placate the mercurial US leader or risk him following through on a threat to destroy the country's power plants and bridges.
Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, a vital route for the world's oil and gas, since the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign on February 28.
Trump, who has held no public events since an address to the nation on Wednesday, seemed to confirm the new timing in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
"We are in a position that's very strong, and that country will take 20 years to rebuild, if they're lucky, if they have a country," he told the Journal Sunday.
"And if they don't do something by Tuesday evening, they won't have any power plants, and they won't have any bridges standing."
The president did a string of short interviews with media outlets after he announced the dramatic rescue of a US airman – and issued an expletive-laden ultimatum to the Islamic republic to free up the strategic waterway or risk a fierce US attack.
He told Fox News he believes there is a "good chance" of making a deal with Iran on Monday.
"I think there is a good chance tomorrow, they are negotiating now," the president said.
"If they don't make a deal and fast, I'm considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil," he added.
Trump claims Iran has "conceded" not to have a nuclear weapon
In the same interview, Trump said he had given Iranian negotiators "immunity from death" – and said they had conceded that Tehran would not move ahead with the development of nuclear weapons.
"The big thing is they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. They're not even negotiating that point, it's so easy," he said. "That's already been conceded. Most of the points are conceded."
In an interview with ABC News, Trump said the conflict should end in "days, not weeks," but warned that without some kind of agreement with Tehran, there was "very little" that would be considered off-limits in terms of US action.
Cover photo: via REUTERS