US 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 attacks on its infrastructure.
“Tuesday, 8:00 PM ET!” He simply said on his “Truth Social” platform.
The new deadline, 0000 GMT Wednesday, will mean another day for Tehran to try to placate the embattled US leader or risk him following through on a threat to destroy the country’s power plants and bridges.
Iran has effectively blocked the shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for the world’s oil and gas, since the US-Israeli bombing campaign began on February 28.
Trump, who has not held a public event since addressing the nation on Wednesday, appeared to confirm the new timing in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
“We are in a position that is very strong and that country will take 20 years to rebuild, if they are lucky, if they have a place,” he told the Journal Sunday.
“And if they don’t do something by Tuesday night, they won’t have any power plants and they won’t have any bridges standing.”
The US president held a series of brief interviews with the media after announcing the dramatic rescue of a US airliner – and issued a loaded ultimatum to the Islamic republic to vacate the strategic waterway or risk a heavy-handed US attack.
He told Fox News he believes there is a “good chance” of striking a deal with Iran on Monday.
“I think there’s a good chance tomorrow, they’re negotiating now,” the president said.
“If they don’t make a deal and quickly, I’m considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil,” he added.
In the same interview, Trump said he had given Iranian negotiators “immunity from death” – and said they had agreed that Tehran would not move forward with developing nuclear weapons.
“The bottom line is that they won’t have a nuclear weapon. They’re not even negotiating that point, it’s that easy,” he said.
“That’s already suffered. Most points conceded.”
In an interview with ABC News, Trump said the conflict should end in “days, not weeks” but warned that without some sort of deal with Tehran, there was “very little” that would be considered off limits in terms of US action.
Kurds
Trump told Fox News that the United States had tried to send weapons to Iranian protesters opposing the cleric-led government through Kurdish intermediaries.
Demonstrations erupted in December in Iran over the high cost of living – a product of punishing sanctions against Tehran. Those rallies eventually escalated into anti-government protests that were suppressed with deadly force.
“We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them,” Trump said. “And I think the Kurds took the weapons.”
Late last month, a senior official in Iraqi Kurdistan said in an interview with AFP that Washington had not armed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups exiled in the autonomous region.
“We have not seen any attempt by the United States, any branch of the United States, to arm Iranian opposition groups in Kurdistan,” said the deputy prime minister of Iraqi autonomous Kurdistan, Qubad Talabani.
