Trump names new deadline for Tehran ultimatum, "otherwise Iran will turn into the Stone Age"

Photo: Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated threats against Iran, demanding that it open the Strait of Hormuz for navigation by Tuesday evening Washington time, promising otherwise to strike the country's infrastructure.

"The whole country can be disabled overnight - and that night could come as early as tomorrow," he said in his opening remarks at a White House press conference.

"They won't have bridges, they won't have power plants. They'll be in the Stone Age," he added later, answering journalists' questions.

Trump confirmed that the ultimatum expires at 8:00 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday (three AM Wednesday in Minsk).

"By midnight tomorrow, every bridge in Iran will be completely destroyed, and every power plant in Iran will go out of commission - they will burn, explode and never be used again. This could happen within four hours if we wanted to. But we don't want it to happen," the American leader said.

A new written message from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was published in Iran in the evening. It concerned the assassination of the head of intelligence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Majid Khademi, for which Israel claimed responsibility.

In his message, Khamenei, repeating the usual Iranian rhetoric, writes that the death of commanders - and Khademi is far from the first military leader to die since the start of the war - will not undermine the ideology of the IRGC.

Mojtaba Khamenei was elected the new Supreme Leader about a month ago after the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28. Since then, he has published written statements several times, but has never appeared in public; during this time, no photos or videos of him have appeared. Donald Trump claimed that Mojtaba was either dead or in a difficult physical condition. Iranian officials insisted that he was healthy and only avoiding public appearances for security reasons.

On Monday, Iran and the United States received proposals for a ceasefire developed by Pakistan, but conflicting reports came in throughout the day, and it is still unclear whether there are chances for an agreement. Trump says talks with Tehran are ongoing. The Iranian agency Irna reported on Monday that Iran has already rejected the ceasefire proposal and insists on the need for a final end to the conflict.

A White House official earlier told the BBC that the ceasefire proposal is "one of many ideas" Donald Trump is considering, but for now the operation against Iran continues. The Pentagon canceled a briefing on the day Trump's ultimatum to Iran expires:

Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense canceled a press conference scheduled for Tuesday - the day Trump's ultimatum on the Strait of Hormuz expires.

The event was scheduled for 8:00 AM local time (3:00 PM Minsk time). Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kane were expected to answer journalists' questions.

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