President Trump issued an ominous threat to Iran with mixed messages on Tuesday ahead of an 8 p.m. EDT deadline he set in which he warned “a whole civilization will die tonight” unless “something revolutionary wonderful” occurs.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump insists there has been regime change in Iran, but the country’s leadership has elected the son of the late supreme leader, who was killed on the first day of the war.
Other Iranian officials, such as the foreign minister and the speaker of Parliament, have been defiant of the U.S.-Israeli attacks, even going so far as to encourage people to form human chains around power plants Trump is threatening to strike.
Trump’s warning to the country also came with mixed messages. While threatening the entire civilization, he also sent well wishes to the Iranian people. Iran has a population of 93 million.
“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end,” he continued. “God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
The Pentagon on Tuesday also began striking military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island ahead of Trump’s deadline.
The U.S. and Iran received a ceasefire proposal from Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey that included a 45-day ceasefire and the Strait of Hormuz opening. Trump told reporters earlier Monday that Iran made a “significant” offer, but it wasn’t “good enough.”
As of Tuesday morning, oil trading was at $113.40 per barrel, which is $2.15 above Monday morning’s level.
While Trump has spent the last two days threatening large-scale strikes against Iran, other U.S. officials have struck a more conciliatory tone.
Vice President Vance, who is in Hungary to boost President Viktor Orbán’s reelection bid, leaned more heavily on negotiations the administration insists are taking place.
“We’re going to find out but there’s going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then,” the vice president said.
