Trump Swears at Iran In Latest Threat Against Country's Infrastructure

New Delhi: Stepping up his threat to hit Iranian infrastructure including power plants, US President Donald Trump on Sunday (April 5) said – invoking expletives – that unless Tehran stands down from its retaliatory blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday, “you'll be living in Hell”.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!” said the president in a signed Truth Social post appended with the words “Praise be to Allah”.

Iran has imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz off its southern shores that is vital to the global energy trade in retaliation to the US and Israel's strikes on its soil starting February 28.

Tehran's mission to the UN called Trump's open threats to target civilian infrastructure “a direct and public incitement to terrorise civilians and clear evidence of intent to commit war crime”.

“The international community and all States have legal obligations to prevent such atrocious acts of war crimes,” the mission said in a post on X. “They must act now. Tomorrow is too late.”

Trump had threatened to strike Iranian power plants earlier but deferred such an assault to the night of April 6 D.C. time (which would be early on Wednesday in Iran) pending what he said were negotiations that “are going very well”. He reiterated this on Saturday, saying that if Tehran does not open the strait by then, “all Hell will reign down [sic] on them”.

His reference to “Bridge Day” comes after US forces struck an under-construction bridge near Tehran, in an attack that Iran said killed eight people and injured dozens others and which Trump referenced on social media soon afterwards.

The president has issued such deadlines before but extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war, which has killed thousands, shaken global markets, disrupted energy supplies including to India and spiked fuel prices in just over five weeks.

In an interview with Axios on Sunday Trump claimed that the US side is in “deep negotiations” with Iran and that he believed a deal could be reached within his stipulated window. But, the outlet quoted him as saying, “if they don't make a deal, I am blowing up everything over there”.

He has also reportedly told Fox News that he believes a deal could be reached by Monday and that Iran is negotiating.

Tehran has denied negotiating directly with Washington. Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan have been mediating between the two sides.

When asked by Axios if he was worried the attacks could harm Iranian civilians, the president stated that those who oppose the regime in Tehran would be in favour of the US strikes. “They are living in fear. They are afraid we are gonna leave in the middle of the war, but we are not going to leave,” he claimed.

The laws of armed conflict allow attacks on civilian infrastructure only if the military advantage outweighs the civilian harm, legal scholars say. It's considered a high bar to clear, and causing excessive suffering to civilians can constitute a war crime.

Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets like oil fields and desalination plants critical for drinking water.

With inputs from AP.

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