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US President Donald Trump asserted on Monday that Iran could be taken out in one night, “and that night might be tomorrow night”, even as he said shortly afterwards that US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, was talking to intermediaries in Pakistan.
His statements from two different events came ahead of a looming Tuesday night deadline he gave to Tehran to agree to a ceasefire deal with Washington, warning of wider bombing on power plants and other critical infrastructure.
Trump is demanding Iran forswear nuclear weapons and reopen the Strait of Hormuz oil transit waterway.
Iranian media reported on Monday that Tehran had rejected the US ceasefire proposal through intermediary Pakistan, and had instead shared a 10-point proposal, demanding an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting of sanctions and reconstruction.
Addressing a White House press conference on Monday, Trump told reporters that Iran could be taken out in one night, warning Tehran it had to make a deal by Tuesday night or face wider bombing raids.
“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” he said. “I hope I don’t have to do it.”
While answering reporters’ questions, he claimed the US had an active and willing partner to negotiations.
“I can’t talk about ceasefire. But I can tell you that we have an active, willing participant on the other side. They would like to be able to make a deal. I can’t say any more than that,” Trump said.
Trump reiterated his deadline for Iran to forge an agreement and warned otherwise of “complete demolition” of Iran’s energy infrastructure.
“We have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me. And part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oil and everything,” he said.
“We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again. I mean, complete demolition by 12 o’clock, and it’ll happen over a period of four hours if we want it to. We don’t want that to happen.”
He said he had been criticised for “not having a plan” for the war on Iran, adding, “I have the best plan of all, but I’m not going to tell you what my plan is.”
Trump also called out Nato, South Korea, Japan and Australia for not joining the United States in the war on Iran even if, as he put it, “we didn’t need them.”
“They’ve actually gone out of their way not to help. They didn’t even want to give us landing strips,” Trump said. “And it’s not just Nato. You know who else didn’t help us? South Korea didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us, or Australia didn’t help us? You know who else didn’t help us? Japan.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told the briefing that the largest volume of strikes since day one of the operation against Iran would take place on Monday and warned Tuesday would have even more.
Critics have said Trump would be committing war crimes if the US attacked civilian power plants, a point that Trump dismissed on Monday.
“I’m not worried about it. You know what’s a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said earlier on Monday during an Easter egg event for children on the White House South Lawn.
He said the Tuesday deadline he had set for Iran to make a deal was final.
Under the gaze of First Lady Melania Trump and a mascot dressed as a giant Easter bunny, Trump doubled down on the threats of wider bombing.
“If they don’t, they’ll have no bridges, no power plants, no anything. I won’t go further because there are other things that are worse than those two,” Trump told reporters.
But later at the White House press briefing, when he was asked about his threat to bomb power plants and bridges, Trump said: “No, not at all. I hope I don’t have to do it.”
He later added, “I can tell you they’re negotiating, we think, in good faith. We’re going to find out.”
At the Easter event, he said that if it were up to him, he would seize Iran’s oil, but that “unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home” and end the war.
“I’d keep the oil, and I would make plenty of money,” Trump said.
The US president added that Americans who opposed the Iran war were “foolish.” “Because the war is about one thing. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Moreover, he said the US attempted to arm Iranian protesters but the weapons were diverted and never passed to the right people.
Trump said the armaments were meant to help anti-government protesters fight back against the authorities.
“We sent guns, a lot of guns, they were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs.”
“You know what happened? The people that they sent them to kept them,” Trump went on, adding: “So I’m very upset with a certain group of people, and they’re going to pay a big price for that.”
Trump did not give details about who he was accusing of taking the US weapons.
However, on Sunday, Trump was quoted as saying by a Fox News reporter that he blamed Kurdish intermediaries for having taken weapons destined for Iranian dissidents.
He claimed, without providing evidence, that the United States had “numerous intercepts” from Iranian civilians urging the US not to let up in trying to dislodge the Iranian government from power.
“They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom,” Trump said.
Trump said the proposal offered by Iran was inadequate.
“They made a proposal, and it’s a significant proposal. It’s a significant step. It’s not good enough,” Trump told reporters.
Trump said the five-week conflict could end quickly if Iran does “what they have to do.” “They have to do certain things. They know that, they’ve been negotiating I think in good faith,” he said.
On the sidelines of an Easter Egg Roll event at the White House, he told reporters that Vance, US Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were talking with intermediaries in Pakistan.
Asked by a reporter whether he expected Vance to continue talks with intermediaries in Pakistan, Trump replied: “Well, he is, and we have Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner talking. They’re all unified and they’re all talking.“
Asked about the possibility of Vance being part of an in-person meeting, Trump said, “could be.
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