Iran showed no sign of yielding to Donald Trump’s ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as his Tuesday deadline expired, with the US president threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight” while strikes on Iranian infrastructure intensified and Tehran declared it would no longer show restraint in targeting Gulf neighbours.
Explosions were reported throughout the day on railway and road bridges, an airport, a petrochemical plant and power transmission lines. Reports of strikes on Kharg Island — Iran’s main oil export terminal, which Trump has openly discussed destroying or seizing — emerged as the deadline approached.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the arrival of what he described as “Complete and Total Regime Change” in Tehran meant something “revolutionarily wonderful” could yet happen before midnight.
Trump has threatened to destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran within four hours if Tehran did not end its blockade of the strait by 8 p.m. Washington time. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded by declaring that all restraint in targeting US allies’ infrastructure had been lifted.
“America’s regional partners should know that up to today we have shown great restraint for the sake of good neighbourliness,” the Guards said in a statement. “But all these considerations have since been removed.”
Iran rejects temporary truce
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran had rejected a proposal conveyed by intermediaries for a temporary ceasefire. Any lasting peace talks, the source said, could only begin after the US and Israel halted strikes, guaranteed they would not resume and offered compensation for damages — and any future settlement must leave Iran in control of the strait, with the right to impose fees on passing ships.
Iran’s 10-point counter-proposal, reported by the IRNA state news agency, demands a permanent end to the war, the lifting of sanctions and a commitment to rebuild sites damaged by US-Israeli strikes — conditions far beyond the temporary truce Pakistan has been promoting as a go-between. A source familiar with the Pakistani proposal said it called for a ceasefire and the lifting of Iran’s blockade while deferring broader peace terms to future negotiations.
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan said Islamabad’s mediation efforts were “approaching a critical, sensitive stage” but gave no further details.
Markets frozen, synagogue destroyed
Global markets were largely frozen as the deadline approached, with investors unwilling to bet on whether Trump would follow through on his threats or, as on several previous occasions, stand them down.
A synagogue in Tehran was destroyed overnight in what Iran described as Israeli air strikes. Footage broadcast by Iranian media showed Hebrew texts scattered among the rubble. “The synagogue building was completely destroyed and our Torah scrolls were left under the rubble,” said Homayoun Sameh, a lawmaker representing Iran’s Jewish community — one of the largest in the Middle East outside Israel. Israel’s military had no immediate comment.
Ordinary Iranians expressed hope the confrontation would not materialise. “I hope it is another bluff by Trump,” said Shima, 37, from Isfahan, speaking to Reuters by phone.
Trump has called off similar threats several times in recent weeks, each time citing what he described as productive talks with unidentified Iranian figures. Tehran has consistently denied any substantive negotiations have taken place.
(Reuters)