WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die” in Iran on Tuesday if the country does not heed his ultimatum to agree to a peace deal.
“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 his Truth Social platform. “WHO KNOWS?”
“However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen”, he continued.
“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World,” Trump stated.
Earlier, Trump had threatened that the US military could bomb Iran’s bridges, power plants and other civilian infrastructure into the “stone age” unless Tehran agreed a deal to end the war on Tuesday, saying he was “considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil.”
Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based strategic affairs analyst, said that it seems that the US President wants to escalate the rhetoric by directly threatening nuclear annihilation of Iran if it does not agree to a peace deal.
He added that the strategic community understands the choice of words in the US President’s statement as a direct nuclear threat from the head of state of a nuclear power because no other weapon in the world is capable of inflicting the level of destruction consistent with the destruction of a whole civilisation.
Tuesday midnight deadline for Iran
Trump has announced a deadline of midnight GMT Tuesday for Iran to end its closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow, strategic waterway used to transport oil and other commodities.
On Monday, he said a temporary ceasefire proposal being circulated was “very significant”.
Trump said Monday that starting late evening in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, US forces would destroy “every bridge in Iran” and cripple “every power plant” in the country.
US has ‘tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use’ on Iran
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance warned that the US has “tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use” against Iran
He added that he was “hopeful” negotiations would avoid them being deployed.
“The United States has largely accomplished its military objectives,” Vance told reporters during a visit to Hungary, adding that “there’s going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then” when the US deadline expires, at 0000 GMT Wednesday.
“They’ve got to know we’ve got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use. The president of the United States can decide to use them, and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don’t change their course of conduct,” he added.
“But we feel confident that we can get a response, whether it’s positive or negative. We’re going to get a response from the Iranians by 8 o’clock tonight. I hope they make the right response,” Vance added.
White House denies considering nuclear strikes
Later on Tuesday, the White House denied that remarks by JD Vance about military operations in Iran had contained any suggestion of a US nuclear strike against the Islamic republic, AFP reported.
After Vance said US forces have tools they “so far haven’t decided to use” to enforce a dramatic ultimatum from Trump, the White House, according to AFP, said on X: “Literally nothing @VP said here ‘implies’ this, you absolute buffoons.”
The post was in response to one from an account associated with former vice president Kamala Harris that said Vance implied Trump “might use nuclear weapons.”
Mediation reaches ‘critical stage’
Pakistan’s efforts to broker an end to the US-Israeli war on Iran have entered a “critical, sensitive” stage, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan said, as diplomatic activity accelerates ahead of a US deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian envoy Reza Amiri Moghadam described Islamabad’s role as “positive and productive,” signalling growing momentum in mediation efforts aimed at halting the conflict.
Earlier on Monday, Trump said senior American officials — including Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner — are engaged in talks with intermediaries in Pakistan.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said the officials were “all unified” and actively negotiating, adding that in-person meetings could also take place.
Ceasefire proposals under discussion
A proposed 45-day ceasefire is among several options being considered, with Trump calling it a “very significant step,” though “not good enough” in its current form.
Mediators are seeking an immediate halt to hostilities alongside the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, followed by detailed negotiations toward a broader peace agreement.
‘Islamabad Accord’ framework
Diplomatic sources say both Washington and Tehran have received a proposed two-phase agreement — informally dubbed the “Islamabad Accord.”
The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait, followed by 15 to 20 days of negotiations on a comprehensive settlement.
The final agreement could include limits on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, the release of frozen assets and a broader regional security framework.
Attacks on Iran’s infrastructure
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have claimed that at least two bridges, railway infrastructure and a key highway were hit and damaged on Tuesday as part of a wave of US-Israeli air strikes on infrastructure targets.
A bridge near the city of Qom and another carrying a railway line in the central city of Kashan were struck, according to regional officials quoted by state-run media.
A key highway in northern Iran connecting the main northern city of Tabriz with Tehran via Zanjan was also closed after a hit around 90 kilometres outside of Tabriz, an official told IRNA.
A Telegram channel of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said the strike hit an overpass bridge.
The Mizan news agency also reported a strike on railway tracks in Karaj, outside Tehran, with images showing Red Crescent rescuers carrying an injured man on a stretcher.
All trains to and from Iran’s second-largest city, Mashhad, were cancelled on Tuesday following a warning from Israel against using the railways.
According to the ISNA news agency, there was a power outage in parts of the cities of Karaj and Fardis outside Tehran after power transmission lines and a power substation were knocked out of service by airstrikes.
As reports of the damage emerged from Iran, the Israeli military said it had completed a broad wave of strikes targeting “infrastructure sites,” without providing details of what the sites were.
