President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to eliminate the \u201cwhole\u201d Iranian civilization if its government did not meet his many demands, in a sharp escalation of his war with the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n
In a morning post on his Truth Social platform<\/a>, Trump sent more conflicting messages about his intentions and how far he might be willing to go to end his feud with Tehran. When he first announced the ongoing bombardment of Iran in the wee hours of Feb. 28, Trump told the Iranian people he wanted to \u201chelp\u201d them and said he eventually would urge them into their streets to oust their hard-line government.<\/p>\n But as a Trump-set deadline of Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern approached for Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the president had changed his tune dramatically.<\/p>\n \u201cA whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don\u2019t want that to happen, but it probably will,\u201d he wrote on Truth Social. \u201cHowever, 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?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World,\u201d he added. \u201c47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!\u201d<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear whether Trump was bluffing with his intensifying rhetoric, nor if he had decided what orders he might give to U.S. military commanders when the deadline arrives for the leaders of a country of nearly 89 million people<\/a>. <\/p>\n After Trump\u2019s social media post, Iranian officials informed Pakistani intermediaries they would no longer participate in talks toward a possible ceasefire, the New York Times reported<\/a>, citing three sources with knowledge of the communication.<\/p>\n During a Monday appearance<\/a> in the White House briefing room, Trump reiterated his threats to target Iran\u2019s electricity plants, major bridges and other crucial infrastructure. But by Tuesday morning, he had ramped up his rhetoric.<\/p>\n Democratic lawmakers began issuing condemnations of Trump\u2019s threat later Tuesday morning, with one House Democrat calling on Cabinet officials to remove the president from office.<\/p>\n Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., wrote on X<\/a> that officials should invoke the \u201c25th Amendment RIGHT NOW! Trump is too unhinged, dangerous, and deranged to have the nuclear codes!\u201d<\/p>\n Another Wisconsinite, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, said he was \u201choping and praying\u201d that it was all just \u201cbluster\u201d from Trump. <\/p>\n \u201cI do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure,\u201d he told CNN on Tuesday. \u201cWe are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them.\u201d <\/p>\n As of publication time, the White House press office had not responded to multiple inquiries asking if Trump was threatening to drop nuclear weapons inside Iran on Tuesday night, or if a nuclear strike was off the table.\u00a0Spokespersons for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had also not responded to requests for comment on Trump\u2019s morning threat.<\/p>\n Iranian leaders have been defiant amid the weekslong bombing campaign and Trump\u2019s threats to hit critical infrastructure targets, even openly mocking him on social media.<\/p>\n Trump on Monday vacillated between threatening harsh strikes and vows to take care of Iran\u2019s civilian population.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o\u2019clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again,\u201d Trump told reporters in the briefing room. \u201cIt will take them 100 years to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n But at another point, he cast himself as a potential savior for Iran\u2019s population.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d keep the oil, and we\u2019d make plenty of money,\u201d he told reporters Monday<\/a> at the White House Easter Egg Roll, floating a move that could economically hinder Iran \u2014 and any possible U.S.-backed new government. \u201cAnd I would also take care of the people of Iran, much better than they\u2019ve been taken care of. It\u2019s been horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n As Trump ramped up his threats, Vice President JD Vance was in Hungary touting a possible negotiated end to the war.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president has set a deadline for about 12 hours from now in the United States,\u201d Vance told reporters in Budapest, referring to the 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline. \u201cWe\u2019re going to find out, but there\u2019s going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance also used his remarks to warn that Iranian officials should \u201cknow we\u2019ve got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven\u2019t decided to use,\u201d adding: \u201cThe president of the United States can decide to use them, and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don\u2019t change their course of conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n After a social media account run by former Kamala Harris campaign staffers said Vance\u2019s remark<\/a> \u201cimplies Trump might use nuclear weapons,\u201d an account on X<\/a> run by White House communications staff slammed that interpretation, saying: \u201cLiterally nothing @VP said here \u2018implies\u2019 this, you absolute buffoons.\u201d<\/p>\n But in an email exchange with CQ Roll Call, a White House official, granted anonymity to be candid, did not rule out the use of nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n