Trump Issues Final-Hour Ultimatum to Iran, Threatens Strikes on Power Grid and Bridges

Overview

• President Donald Trump set a Tuesday deadline of 8 p.m. in Washington for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept a ceasefire, warning that he would order attacks on Iranian power plants and bridges and posting that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”
• Iran rejected a short truce proposed by mediators and tied any progress to a halt in U.S. and Israeli attacks and to sanctions relief, while officials urged youths to form human chains to guard energy sites and claimed millions volunteered to defend the country.
• Strikes hit Iran before the cutoff, including blasts in Tehran and Israeli claims of attacks on petrochemical sites, while a U.S. strike targeted Kharg Island; Iran fired missiles toward Saudi Arabia and Israel, and Saudi Arabia briefly closed the King Fahd Bridge to Bahrain.
• Global leaders warned that hitting civilian infrastructure could be a war crime, with the UN chief voicing concern and Iran’s UN envoy calling Trump’s rhetoric an incitement to crimes of war and potential genocide, as U.S. politicians across parties criticized the threats.
• Oil prices swung on the day and Brazil rolled out about R$4 billion in temporary steps to blunt diesel, cooking gas, and airline fuel costs, underscoring how disruption in the Strait of Hormuz—the narrow waterway that carries roughly a fifth of seaborne oil—can strain household and travel budgets far beyond the region.