U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 6th that if American demands, including the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, are not met by 8 p.m. Eastern Time on the 7th (9 a.m. Korea time on the 8th), all bridges and power plants in Iran will be destroyed within four hours by midnight.
Trump first warned of a large-scale attack on Iran's power plants and other infrastructure on the 21st of last month, then granted three extensions. His latest statement may constitute a final ultimatum with no further delays, drawing attention to how Iran will respond.
Trump held a press conference at the White House and warned, "They have until 8 o'clock tomorrow," adding, "If Iran does not agree by then, every bridge in Iran will be completely destroyed by midnight tomorrow, and every power plant in Iran will stop operating, burn, explode, and never be used again."
He continued, "Complete destruction will take place by 12 o'clock, and that is something that will happen over four hours," adding, "We can do that if we want. But we don't want that to happen."
He added regarding Iran, "We can wipe out the entire country overnight, and that night could be tomorrow night."
Trump emphasized to Iran, "You have to make a deal that I can accept. Part of that deal is that we want free movement of oil and everything else," reiterating that the opening of the Strait of Hormuz is the top priority in any agreement with Iran.
When asked whether a deal without the opening of the Strait of Hormuz was possible, he replied, "That is a very big priority," adding, "Because that is a little different from the other things. We can bomb them completely. We can completely neutralize them. But blocking the strait is (different)."
His remarks were interpreted as pointing out that a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — which can halt ship traffic simply by laying underwater mines or even just announcing that mines have been laid — is a problem of an entirely different dimension from other forms of military resistance.
Trump noted that U.S. forces had effectively eliminated Iran's naval and air capabilities and sunk mine-laying vessels, but said, "They can load them on other ships and drop them. I'm not sure they still have mines," adding, "Maybe they don't have a single one, because they are very good bluffers."
Trump explained that the reason he extended the agreement deadline — originally set for the 27th of last month after one prior postponement — was that "they asked for a one-week extension, and I told Steve (Witkoff, the Middle East envoy) to give them ten days. The ten days end today. So I indirectly gave them 11 days," adding, "Now we'll see what happens."
The article's subtitle posed the question: after a proposed mediation plan calling for "a 45-day ceasefire followed by a peace agreement," is even the ceasefire itself impossible?