Trump Sets Tuesday 8pm ET Deadline For Iran: Reopen Strait Or Face Massive Strikes
President Trump warned Monday that all of Iran’s bridges and power plants could be destroyed by midnight ET Tuesday — just four hours after his 8 p.m. ET deadline — if Iran and the U.S. do not reach a deal.
He said “very little is off limits,” declining to rule out strikes on civilian infrastructure.
ESCALATING THREATS: Trump gave Iran the deadline on Sunday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a vital shipping route that carries about 20% of the world’s oil — in an expletive-filled Truth Social post. Tehran has restricted access to the waterway since the U.S.-Israel military campaign began five weeks ago.
But, a deal is not looking very likely. Iran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal on Monday, instead calling for a permanent end to the war and listing demands. Iran sent a 10-point response to the plan, which a U.S. official called “maximalist.”
Iranian officials also warned that its military would respond with “more devastating and widespread” retaliation against water and energy infrastructure in the Middle East, including striking OpenAI’s $30 billion Stargate AI data center in Abu Dhabi, if the U.S. goes through with the threat.
A CRUCIAL WATERWAY
Gas in the U.S. rose to more than $4.11 a gallon on average Monday, up from less than $3 before the war. Trump said Monday that if the choice was up to him, he would take the oil from Iran. However, he noted that the American public doesn't want the U.S. military to remain in the country.
READING THE ROOM: An Ipsos poll conducted in late March found that two thirds (66%) of Americans say the U.S. should work to end its involvement in the conflict quickly, even if it means the U.S. does not achieve all of its goals in Iran.
Just over half of Americans (54%) expect the U.S. military conflict with Iran to last at least six more months, with 29% predicting it could stretch a year or longer, according to a mid-March Pew poll. The Trump administration has been saying the operation will end in 4-6 weeks. Ending the war after six weeks (it started Feb 28) would lead to the war ending by this Saturday.
A BLOCKBUSTER RESCUE
Trump also shared new details Monday about the U.S. military’s Easter rescue of a crew member stranded in hostile territory for about 48 hours after an American F-15 was shot down over Iran on Friday.
The U.S. military was able to rescue the wounded American officer from Iran and exit without casualties. Here’s how: ⬇️
SURVIVING AND EVADING: The unidentified Colonel used an encrypted radio after the crash to share his location with U.S. forces. He then hiked up a 7,000-foot mountain ridge and hid inside a mountain crevice.
The officer first radioed “God is good.” U.S. officials initially feared the message could be an Iranian trap meant to lure forces into an ambush.
A MASSIVE TEAM: After CIA technology helped locate the American, Trump said U.S. forces launched a large-scale operation involving more than 150 aircraft to recover the officer. Around 200 soldiers from special operations units carried out the complex rescue mission.
A MISDIRECT: The CIA also ran a deception campaign, spreading false information that the officer had already been rescued and was being moved by ground convoy — hoping to confuse Iranian forces and buy the U.S. more time.
LAST-MINUTE PIVOTS: Two planes involved in the mission struggled due to heavy equipment and sandy terrain, Trump said, forcing crews to abandon and destroy them before three lighter planes arrived to evacuate the injured officer and the rescue team.
U.S. forces rescued the other crew member from the downed F-15 fighter jet last Friday. As of Monday, all U.S. personnel were safely out of Iran.