Trump outlines 4-hour attack plan if Iran deal isn't reached
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump has held firm to his threat to launch massive attacks on critical infrastructure in Iran if it doesn't reach a peace deal by 8:00pm ET Tuesday. The deal must include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, an important waterway for global oil and gas flows. "The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night," Trump said at a news conference at the White House.
Trump
Trump's plan
"And after that, they're going to have no bridges," Trump said, adding, "They're going to have no power plants. Stone ages." He also said the administration is planning a four-hour attack. "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," Trump told reporters.
Plan
'Complete demolition by 12 o'clock'
He said there would be "complete demolition by 12 o'clock." And it will happen over a period of four hours if we want it to." "We don't want that to happen," the president added. He said that he believed "reasonable" leaders in Iran were negotiating in "good faith," but the outcome remained uncertain.
Legal implications
Trump dismisses war crime concerns
While experts have warned that attacks on civilian infrastructure could amount to a war crime, Trump has dismissed these concerns. "I'm not worried about it," he said during the White House Easter Egg Roll. He argued that allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon is the real war crime. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned that any attack on power plants would be met with "a decisive, immediate, and regret-inducing response."
Diplomatic efforts
US-Iran ceasefire talks underway
A US official said mediators are trying to reach a 45-day truce before Trump's deadline. However, Iran has rejected the mediators' proposal and presented its own 10-point plan instead. Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran's diplomatic mission in Cairo, told AP that "we only accept an end of the war with guarantees...we won't be attacked again." He said Iran no longer trusts the US after it bombed the nation twice during previous rounds of talks.
Media criticism
Iran plans human chains around power plants
When asked about this ceasefire proposal, Trump called it a "significant step" but said it was "not good enough." As the deadline nears, Iran has called on its youth to form human chains around key power plants on Tuesday. Alireza Rahimi, secretary of Iran's Supreme Council of Youth and Adolescents, urged "young people, athletes, artists, students" to gather at 2:00pm around the power plants. He called these facilities "national assets" of Iran's future and urged unity "regardless of political viewpoint."