Trump Warns ‘A Whole Civilisation Will Die Tonight’ as Iran Vows 14 Million Ready to Sacrifice
US President Donald Trump escalated his threats against Iran on Tuesday, warning of catastrophic consequences if Tehran refuses to comply with Washington’s demands, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that millions of Iranians stand ready to lay down their lives for their country.
“A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding cryptically, “WHO KNOWS?”
Even as he issued the stark warning, Trump left the door open for a last-minute deal, claiming the US had already achieved what he called complete regime change in Iran. “Now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalised minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight,” he wrote.
Trump did not elaborate on the regime change claim but has previously threatened to bomb Iran’s bridges, power plants, and other civilian infrastructure, reducing the country to what he described as the “stone age.”
On Monday, Trump had reiterated those threats with a specific deadline. “We have a plan where every bridge, every power plant in Iran will be out of business, complete demolition by 8 PM ET,” he said, warning that it could take Iran “100 years to rebuild.” At a White House press briefing, he further stated, “The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.”
The ultimatum centres on Trump’s demand that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8:00 PM Washington time on Tuesday. Failure to comply, Trump warned, would trigger a simultaneous, large-scale bombing campaign targeting each of Iran’s electric generating plants and bridges, with the stated goal of leaving those facilities “burning, exploding, and never to be used again” within a four-hour window.
Responding to the pressure, Iranian President Pezeshkian struck a defiant tone on X, writing: “Over 14 million proud Iranians have, up to this moment, declared their readiness to sacrifice their lives in defence of Iran. I, too, have been, am, and will be a sacrificer for Iran.”
Inside Iran, the mood turned mobilisational. Iran’s Deputy Sports Minister Alireza Rahimi separately called on athletes, artists, students, and faculty to form “human chains” around the country’s power plants — a symbolic and physical gesture aimed at deterring potential airstrikes. In a video message, Rahimi invited citizens to gather near power plants on Tuesday at 2 PM local time, saying, “These are our wealth and belongings.”