Trump says ‘we’re in heated negotiations’ as Iran and US review two-week ceasefire plan
Donald Trump said he was in “heated negotiations” with Iran as the two sides discussed plans for a two-week ceasefire agreement.
The president said Pakistan, which is mediating the peace talks, had been informed about an offer made by the United States before the deadline, which ends at 20:00 on Tuesday.
Trump has vowed to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including energy facilities and bridges, unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
The president refused to comment on the draft plan, telling Fox News: ‘I can’t comment because we’re in heated negotiations right now.’
According to Reuters, a senior Iranian official said that Tehran has positively evaluated Pakistan’s request for a two-week ceasefire.
Extending the deadline would mark the fourth time the President has moved his crosshairs since threatening to ‘destroy’ Iran’s power plants on March 21.
Trump posted on Truth Social this morning: ‘An entire civilization will die tonight and never be brought back. I don’t want this to happen, but it probably will.’
Republican lawmakers have expressed concern that attacking civilian infrastructure, a war crime under the Geneva Convention, would be a serious mistake.
Trump at a press conference in the James Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 6
Hundreds of US UAVs (pictured) hit Iran, Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper says
Streaks of light illuminate the sky during an attempted intervention amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on April 7
Streaks of light illuminate the sky during an attempted intervention amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on April 7
Senator Ron Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, said: ‘I think this would be a huge mistake. So if he attacks civilian targets, he loses me. ‘Everything we do must comply with the laws of war.’
‘We’re all hoping and praying,’ Johnson told the Wall Street Journal. We pray for the ayatollahs to surrender.’
Democratic lawmakers have been even more forceful, calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, which strips the President of his powers if he suffers a medical crisis.
Even before the deadline, air strikes hit two bridges and a train station, and the US hit military infrastructure on Kharg Island. This was the second time American forces struck the island, which is a major hub for Iran’s oil production.
The Israeli military has warned of the increasing risk of attack as Trump’s deadline approaches.
While explosions were heard in Qatar’s capital Doha, the UAE said its air defense was responding to missile threats.
Bahrain’s main port said it suspended operations early Wednesday due to the start of the deadline.
Iran has warned it will take “immediate and proportionate” action if Trump follows through on his threat to attack the country.
Tehran’s representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said Trump’s threats “constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide.”
Faced with the threat of devastating military attack, terrified civilians told the Daily Mail they frantically evacuated major cities and said goodbye to their loved ones.
Meanwhile, the defiant government is installing human shields at infrastructure facilities; There are chilling videos of civilians, including women and children, waving flags at power plants and bridges.
One Iranian says he and his family are already stockpiling water and supplies for fear of U.S. attacks and the regime’s reaction.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘They’re very stressed but at the same time, if this war ended now it would literally go to hell because the government would retaliate.’
The call to gather at infrastructure facilities came directly from an Iranian official captured in a video clip by The Associated Press.
Iranians gather at infrastructure sites like bridges and power plants to mock Trump’s message of destruction
The video shows women and children waving flags while slogans are shouted over a loudspeaker at a power plant.
US hit dozens of military targets overnight on Kharg Island, a major Iranian oil export hub
US Navy fighter jets take off from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during Operation Epic Fury
Trump says he will target power plants and civilian bridges
Speaking in Farsi, he urged ‘youth, athletes, artists, students and professors’ to assemble at power plants the following day at 2pm local time, arguing that their presence would expose any American strike as a war crime.
Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization is ‘truly unacceptable’ and that any attack on civilian infrastructure violates international law.
In some of his strongest comments yet against the war, Leo called on Americans and other people of good will to contact their political leaders and congressional representatives to demand that they reject the war and work for peace.
‘As we all know today, there was a threat to the entire Iranian people. “This is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: ‘Only the President knows where things are and what he will do.’
“The Iranian regime has until 8pm Eastern Time to seize the right moment and make a deal with the United States,” he added.
