President Trump warned Monday of a “complete demolition” of every bridge and power plant in Iran if a deal is not reached by Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
With that deadline looming, Iranian officials rejected U.S. demands and presented a 10-point proposal of their own. The plan, reported by the New York Times, called for guarantees that Iran would not be attacked again, an end to Israeli strikes on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and removal of sanctions in exchange for reopening the strait. It would also impose a $2 million fee for every ship transiting the waterway.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that “more than 14 million brave Iranians have so far declared their readiness to sacrifice their lives to defend Iran. I too have been, am, and will be sacrificing my life for Iran.” His post followed a call from Iran’s deputy minister for youth urging citizens — “young people, cultural and artistic figures, athletes” — to form human chains beside power plants across the country. “We will stand hand in hand next to power plants across the country, with every belief and taste, to say: attacking public infrastructure is a war crime,” Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth Alireza Rahimi wrote.
Iran’s ambassador in Islamabad, Reza Amiri Mughadam, said Pakistan’s efforts to stop the war are “approaching a critical, sensitive” period. Mughadam described Tehran’s primary demand as “a complete cessation of the war” coupled with a guarantee of non-repetition of aggression, and warned unnamed Gulf states to consider their ties with Iran, saying the U.S. will “sooner or later” leave the region having accepted defeat.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to consider a resolution, sponsored by Bahrain, demanding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET.
Meanwhile, the fighting spread across the region. Israel said it struck one of the “few remaining” petrochemical facilities producing ballistic missile and explosive material in Shiraz, as well as a ballistic missile site in northwestern Iran and other infrastructure. Israel also warned Iranians via X to avoid train travel and railway tracks.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles into central Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The exchanges forced closure of the King Fahd bridge between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said it was assessing damage to an energy facility caused by falling debris from dozens of ballistic missiles and drones that its air defenses intercepted. The United Arab Emirates also reported engaging incoming missiles and drones with its air defense systems.
Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai and Tina Kraja in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.
