 |
| ▲ U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the White House in Washington on April 6, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap) |
Trump-Iran war
Trump repeats threats to destroy Iranian bridges, power plants by Tuesday night if deal is not reached
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, April 6 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Monday to destroy Iranian bridges and power plants by 12 p.m. Tuesday (Washington time) if Tehran does not reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz and reach a peace deal with the United States, warning that "the entire country can be taken out in one night."
He renewed the threats during a press conference ahead of his latest deadline to reopen the strait, set for 8 p.m. Tuesday, while criticizing South Korea, Japan, Australia and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies for not providing military support to help unblock the waterway.
"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," he said.
"I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to," he added.
He went on to say, "We don't want that to happen," as he seeks a negotiated settlement to end the conflict.
"Do I want to do that? No. Do I want to destroy their infrastructure? No," he said.
"It will take them 100 years to rebuild right now. If we left today, it would take them 20 years to rebuild their country, and it would never be as good as it was, and the only way they're going to be able to rebuild their country is to utilize the genius of the United States of America."
Trump's threats of attacks on power plants and bridges have raised questions over whether the strikes, if carried out, could amount to a breach of international law, which generally bans attacks on civilian infrastructure unless they are mobilized for military purposes.
But he continued to warn of the strikes on civilian infrastructure.
"The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night," he said.
Trump again criticized South Korea, Japan, Australia and NATO countries for not acceding to his appeal to provide naval assistance to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, such as sending warships to escort merchant vessels through the waterway, which is responsible for about a fifth of the world's oil supply.
In particular, he pointed out the presence of U.S. troops in South Korea "right next to" North Korea with "a lot of nuclear weapons."
"We have 45,000 people ... soldiers in harm's way, and right next to Kim Jong-un with a lot of nuclear weapons, which should have never happened," he said, referring to the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea and the North Korean leader.
"If a certain president did his job, Kim Jong-un would not have nuclear weapons right now, but they were all afraid to do their job properly."
Trump claimed that he gets along with Kim "very well," and that Kim likes him.
Touching on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said that reopening the waterway is a "very big priority," and that a peace deal with Iran will include "free traffic of oil" through the strait. Iran's retaliatory missile and drone strikes have seriously disrupted shipping through the strait.
"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.
Asked about negotiations on a ceasefire, Trump did not go into detail, but he stressed that the U.S. has 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," he said.
Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators sent U.S. and Iranian sides a proposal for a 45-day ceasefire and the strait's reopening, and that Tehran rejected the ceasefire proposal, calling for a permanent end to the conflict, according to the Associated Press.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
