Trump threatened Iran with "the death of civilization" 12 hours before the deadline on Iran

US President Donald Trump, ahead of the deadline for the ultimatum he issued to Iran to strike a peace deal with Washington and open the Strait of Hormuz, threatened Tehran with "the death of an entire civilization" if the Iranian authorities do not make concessions. "I don't want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote on the social network ThuthSocial exactly 12 hours before the end of the deadline he had laid out.

"An entire civilization will die today, and it will never be revived again," the U.S. president declared, noting, however, that now that Iran has "undergone a complete and total regime change, with other, more intelligent and less radical minds prevailing [in the Islamic republic], perhaps something revolutionarily beautiful will happen." "Who knows?" - Trump wondered. "We will find out today, at one of the most important moments in the long and complicated history of the world," he remarked, pointing out that "47 years of extortion, corruption and death will finally come to an end" - probably referring to the end of the Ayatollah regime in Iran, which came to power after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

US Vice President J.D. Vance at a press conference in Budapest at the same time noted that "very soon this war [in the Middle East] will come to an end" and the US is counting on a "favorable" resolution of this conflict (quoted by Bloomberg). The operation of U.S. forces on Iran's Kharq Island "does not represent a change in strategy," Vance added. "In principle, U.S. military objectives in Iran have been achieved," and "the final outcome [of events] depends on Iranian representatives," he said (quoted by The Wall Street Journal).

Earlier on April 7, Iranian media, including Mehr News Agency, reported about explosions on the island where Iran's largest oil terminal is located. The vast majority of the country's crude exports pass through Khark. The Wall Street Journal later confirmed that the US had hit "more than 50 military targets" on Kharq Island. What exactly those targets were, the newspaper did not specify. In announcing his deadline for Iran over the weekend, Trump threatened to strike the republic's energy infrastructure and bridges if Tehran did not agree to a ceasefire and open the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern Time on April 7 (05:00 a.m. April 8 Astana time).

Brent crude oil on April 7 is up 0.8% to $110.65 per barrel on the back of Trump's statements. May WTI contracts are also up 2% against the previous close at $114.82.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices are declining: contracts on S&P 500 are losing 0.36%, on Dow Jones - 0.25%, on Nasdaq 100 are falling by 0.53%. European stock markets are also showing negative dynamics: the pan-European index Stoxx 600 amid Trump's statements went into the red zone and is losing 0.28%, although during the trading session it was adding 0.8%.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor