US President Donald Trump has moved the deadline he gave Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz from Monday to Tuesday. It was the latest change in Trump's ultimatum, although he has now warned that without a deal "hell will fall" on Iran.
The original deadline for opening the strait, announced by Trump, was March 23, but it has since been postponed several times amid contradictory statements by the US president, which included sharp threats against Tehran, postponements of massive US strikes, and claims that talks are going well - sometimes in the same statement.
Iran has rejected the latest ceasefire proposal, the IRNA news agency reported on Monday. Trump then issued a new warning. He said that if there is no agreement by 8:00 p.m. today, the country could be left without key infrastructure. And that this deadline is final.
"They will have no bridges. They will have no power plants. They will have nothing," said the US president.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that attacks on civilian infrastructure are prohibited by international law. However, Trump said that he was not concerned by such accusations.
Here are Trump's previous deadlines and threats and what happened after that:
The ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz
On March 21, Trump gave Iran 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz. The president threatened in a post on Truth Social that if this did not happen, "the United States will strike and destroy Iran's power plants".
Shortly before the deadline, he announced that he was having "productive talks" with Iran "to end the conflict" and that he had ordered a five-day postponement of military action – until March 26, and everything will depend on the "progress of the talks".
Threat to water desalination plants
Shortly before this deadline expired, Trump issued new threats: "They better get serious soon, before it's too late, because once that happens, there's NO TURNING BACK and it's not going to be nice!".
The same day, the deadline was extended to April 6, with Donald Trump again noting that the negotiations "are going very well".
On March 30, he made a controversial statement in Truth Social – simultaneously noting progress in the talks and issuing a new batch of threats if a deal is not reached, while simultaneously expressing the expectation that it is "very likely to be achieved" agreement.
"We will end our wonderful "stay" in Iran by blowing up and completely destroying all their power plants, oil wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all their water desalination plants)", he also wrote.
Swear words and threat to attack power plants and bridges
On Saturday, April 4, Trump again recalled in a statement on his social network the deadline for opening the Strait of Hormuz - April 6, saying that "true hell" would fall on Iran if this did not happen.
As the deadline approached, the president released a new message full of swear words and even sharper threats: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day, all in one, in Iran. You have not seen anything like it!!! Open the damn strait, you crazy sons of bitches, or you'll burn in hell – JUST WATCH!– Trump wrote.
Yesterday, Trump hinted that Tuesday's deadline would be final, saying he had already given Iran enough reprieves. "The whole country could be destroyed overnight, and tonight could be the next one", Trump said, adding: "We have a plan, because of the power of our military, that every bridge in Iran will be destroyed by 12 o'clock tomorrow night".
What's next for diplomacy with Iran
According to the head of Iran's diplomatic mission in Cairo, Iranian officials are expressing distrust of the United States, citing previous strikes during negotiations as a reason. "We accept an end to the war only with guarantees that we will not be attacked again," he told The Associated Press.
According to diplomatic sources, talks are continuing, despite the tension.
Meanwhile, Israeli TV Channel 13 posted a timer counting down the time until the deadline expires today.
Translated from English: Atanasi Petrov, BTA