WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tonight, a major deadline is just hours away for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Failure to meet that deadline will result in what President Donald Trump calls the destruction of “a whole civilization.”
A stark warning Tuesday morning from the president is raising major fears about a drastic escalation in the war. It’s also concerning for Iranian Americans who have family and friends in Iran and want to see an empowered resistance movement — not destruction.
8:00pm ET Tuesday— that’s President Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen a major global oil chokepoint, or face consequences.
“And after that, they’re going to have no bridges. They’re going to have no power plants,” President Trump said Monday. “The entire country can be taken out in one night.”
Tuesday morning, President Trump warned if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz and agree to end the war by the deadline, a “whole civilization” will die.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The White House dismissed concerns that such targets could be considered war crimes.
“These are people that are living where the bombs are exploding. And when we leave and we’re not hitting those areas, they’re saying, ‘please come back, come back, come back,’” Trump said when asked about innocent Iranian civilians on Monday.
“I am certainly worried about civilian loss,” said Dr. Majid Sadeghpour, the political director for the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OAIC). “All parties involved here in this war must do everything they can to protect the people, including the economic and civil infrastructure of Iran.”
“Iran is its people, not the regime. Whatever is done, the Iranian people must be treated with care and as an ally of the free world- particularly the United States,” Sadeghpour said.
Dr. Sadeghpour says bombing Iran — especially civilian targets — makes it more difficult for organized opposition — like the National Council of Resistance of Iran — to stay organized and to mobilize.
“Mounting an uprising in the middle of bombing is nearly impossible,” he said.
“Ending, the threat of the Iranian regime requires a fundamental change in the regime. For that to occur, you need an organized force on the ground to fight the regime. Bombs from airplanes will not do it. That force has existed for 45 years,” Sadeghpour added. “The main concern of the Iranian regime is its own defiant population inside Iran, because they are afraid of igniting an underground of uprising in Iran.”
With the clock ticking toward eight o’clock — energy markets are watching closely amid surging gas and oil prices. U.S. benchmark oil — West Texas Intermediate — rose above $116 a barrel Tuesday, while Brent crude is trading around $110. AAA says the national average for regular gas is now roughly $4.14 a gallon.