Leavitt says Trump’s threat to destroy Iran was not a bluff after ceasefire
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Wednesday’s news conference that President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization was not a bluff.
A two-week ceasefire agreement was reached between the Iranian government and the United States and its allies on Tuesday, just before the 8 p.m. deadline that Trump previously set in a Truth Social post.
“It was a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led the Iranian regime to kneel, ask for a ceasefire, and agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” Leavitt said. “So it was a very strong threat that got results. As the Secretary of War noted at the Pentagon this morning, it was by no means an idle threat.”
TRUMP’S THREAT TO END THE IRANIAN ‘CIVILIZATION’ Led to an encounter at CAPITO HILL
Many of President Donald Trump’s critics have argued that he initially balked at not committing what they insist was a “genocide” of the Iranian people. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Leavitt said the War Department has a ready list of targets if Iran does not meet Trump’s deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump first threatened Iran in a post on Truth Social on Easter Sunday. He claimed that Iranians would “live in hell” if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened.
“An entire civilization will die tonight and never be brought back,” Trump posted on Tuesday.
“I don’t want this to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote.
TRUMP ACCEPTED A 2-WEEK ceasefire in case Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz
Pope Leo (Reuters)
A reporter asked Leavitt whether the United States could be seen as a “moral leader” in the world, given that Trump had threatened the destruction of an entire nation.
“The insinuation by anyone in this room that Iran somehow has the moral high ground is insulting, given the atrocities they have committed against our people and our military over the last fifty years,” Leavitt said. he said.
Iranians reacted after the ceasefire announcement made in Enqelab Square in Tehran on April 8, 2026. The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, just an hour before US President Donald Trump’s deadline to destroy the rival country expires and Tehran temporarily reopens the vital Strait of Hormuz. (AFP via Getty Images)
While Trump celebrated Iran’s ten-point peace deal proposal on Truth Social, he received harsh criticism from Pope Leo. The Catholic Church leader called Trump’s threat to destroy Iran “truly unacceptable.”
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Representative Ro Khanna, California, released a video about: X On Tuesday, there is a push to invoke the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office.
“It threatens the complete destruction of a civilization,” Khanna said. “This is a moral crime. This is a war crime.”
