Donald Trump has made his most specific threats against Iran to date, saying that the "entire country could be taken out in one night, and it might be tomorrow night," he said on Monday.
"We have a plan where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night. Where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again. I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to," Trump said. "We don't want that to happen."
Iran rejected a ceasefire proposal by Pakistan on Monday, which would have included the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, they offered a 10-point ceasefire proposal of their own that no one is taking seriously.
Trump says that negotiations were "going fine" and that he believes Iran is "negotiating in good faith." But it's obvious that his patience is wearing thin and that he will not tolerate Iran's transparent stalling tactics any longer.
"If the president sees a deal is coming together, he'll probably hold off. But only he and he alone makes that decision," a senior administration official told Axios. "A defense official said they were 'skeptical' there would be any extension this time around," according to the website.
Axios quoted White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly, "The President's team continues to engage with the Iranians to see if a deal is possible. If it is not, the country's energy sites and bridges will be hit harder than anyone thought possible."
Iran is trying to convince the world that it's winning and can dictate terms. This fantasy is about to blow up in their faces unless Trump isn't really serious about his threats.
Not so, say administration officials.
Trump might be the most hawkish person in the top echelons of his administration on Iran, according to a U.S. source who spoke to him several times in recent days.
"The president is the most bloodthirsty, like a mad dog," another U.S. official said, downplaying stories that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or Secretary of State Marco Rubio were egging him on. "Those guys sound like the doves compared to the president."
Trump has started sounding out advisers and confidants about the plan to strike power plants and bridges by asking them, "What do you think of Infrastructure Day?"
Breaking it down: Trump's negotiating team —Vice President JD Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — thinks he should try to get a deal now if possible.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and political allies like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are urging Trump not to agree to a ceasefire unless Iran makes concessions that currently appear unlikely, like reopening the Strait of Hormuz or relinquishing all highly enriched uranium.
Iran has only one play: leverage their nominal control of the Strait of Hormuz for all that it's worth and hope that the rest of the world pressures the U.S. to end the fighting short of Tehran's total destruction. As long as the regime survives, Iran believes it can claim "victory." The American and European media will echo that belief, saying that because Iran wasn't totally destroyed and the regime overthrown, Trump lost.
Iran is claiming that Trump's threats to destroy power plants and bridges were "direct incitement to terrorism and provide clear evidence of intent to commit war crimes under international law."
Power plants have always been fair game in war, as are bridges if they're used by the military. That's affirmative on both targets, so good luck proving "war crimes."
Iran is telling American negotiators that they're having trouble communicating because of the relentless campaign to destroy the government's means of talking to one another.
Trump suggested the phlegmatic pace of Iranian deliberations was holding back the talks during his press conference on Monday, noting that Iranian leaders can't communicate efficiently due to security concerns.
He said Iranian leaders had to use children to pass notes back and forth. One source said Trump was alluding to the means by which Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has been communicating with the outside world and giving orders to his subordinates.
Trump's advisers told the mediators the president needs to see positive indications from the Iranians to consider an extension. "We're knee-deep in negotiations, anything can happen," one said.
Iran has also called on artists and athletes "to form human chains at power plants across the country on Tuesday," according to Reuters. It's unlikely that many Iranians would be eager to put themselves in the line of fire against the current regime.
Bombing Iranian bridges and power plants could turn many Iranians against the United States. It would also raise the cost of rebuilding Iran by hundreds of billions of dollars. But Iran is literally asking for it, seeing the destruction of its infrastructure as a way to gain sympathy from some of the world.
Much of the world is going to hate the U.S. and Trump, no matter what, and Trump is proceeding on exactly that assumption.
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