As Trump's deadline nears, last-ditch effort seeks Iran ceasefire

US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Tuesday that "a whole civilisation will die tonight" if Tehran refuses to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz shipping lane by his evening deadline, while Pakistan proposed a two-week ceasefire in a last-ditch attempt at mediation.

With just hours to go before the US president's 8:00 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT) deadline, Tehran was positively reviewing Pakistan's request to secure more time for diplomacy, a senior Iranian official told Reuters. The White House said Trump was aware of the proposal and would respond.

Trump's extraordinary threat to destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran unless it ends the blockade of Gulf oil unnerved global leaders, rattled financial and energy markets and drew widespread condemnation, including from the head of the United Nations and Pope Leo. Some international law experts have said a widespread attack on civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.

As the clock ticked down, US and Israeli strikes on Iran intensified, hitting railway and road bridges, an airport and a petrochemical plant. US forces attacked targets on Kharg Island, home to Iran's main oil export terminal.

Iran responded by declaring it would no longer hold back from hitting its Gulf neighbours' infrastructure and said it had carried out fresh strikes on a ship in the Gulf and a huge Saudi petrochemical complex. Booms were heard in Doha late on Tuesday night, according to a Reuters witness in the Qatari capital.

The war, now in its sixth week, has claimed more than 5,000 lives in nearly a dozen countries, including more than 1,600 civilians in Iran, according to tallies from government sources and human rights groups.

The closure of the strait, through which almost a fifth of the world's oil supply typically travels, has sharply increased oil prices, escalating the chances of a global economic downturn or even recession.

With the US midterm election campaign ramping up, Trump's approval ratings have hit their lowest level ever, leaving his Republican Party at risk of losing its grip on Congress. Polls show sizable majorities of Americans opposed to the war and frustrated by the rising cost of gasoline.

STATE OF TALKS UNCLEAR

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, which is mediating between the two sides, said in a post on X that Trump should extend his deadline by two weeks and Iran should open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks as a goodwill gesture.

The state of negotiations was unclear, with Trump and Iranian leaders exchanging bellicose threats. An Iranian official told Reuters about five hours before the deadline that the US and Iran were still exchanging messages via mediators, without providing details.

"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 Truth Social.

"However, 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?"

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply troubled" by Trump's statement, his spokesperson said. Pope Leo said threats against the population of Iran are "unacceptable".

Iran's UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, called Trump's threat "deeply irresponsible" and "profoundly alarming". Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting where China and Russia vetoed a resolution aimed at protecting commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Iravani said Trump's "rhetoric is unfitting of any political leader".

The Israeli military said there was a possibility of increased fire towards Israel as Trump's ultimatum nears. It said it was ready to operate both "defensively and offensively".

Iranians were also watching the clock in hope of a reprieve. "I hope it is another bluff by Trump," Shima, 37, from the central city of Isfahan, told Reuters by phone.

Trump has abruptly called off similar threats over the past several weeks, citing what he has described as productive negotiations with figures in Iran he did not identify. Tehran has denied any such substantive talks have taken place.

Brian Finucane, a former US State Department legal adviser now with the International Crisis Group, said Trump's remarks "could plausibly be interpreted as a threat to commit genocide" under US and international law.

MARKETS PARALYSED

Global markets were largely paralysed, hesitant to bet on whether Trump would follow through on his threats. MKTS/GLOB

Ahead of Trump's deadline, Kuwait's Interior Ministry asked people to remain home from midnight to 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday as a "precautionary measure." The US State Department told US citizens in Bahrain to shelter in place, urged Americans in Egypt to exercise caution and encouraged people to reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia.

Iran's Borna news agency said air defences had been activated over Tehran, with fighter planes flying at low altitude over the city.

Israel launched fresh attacks on Iranian infrastructure on Tuesday, having warned Iranians in a social media post that anyone near railways would be in danger.

Israel targeted train tracks and bridges that were used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards to transport operatives, weapons and raw materials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, without providing evidence to support his claims.

Iran's Amirkabir petrochemicals plant was struck by the US and Israel on Tuesday evening, the semi-official news agency Mehr reported.

Iran responded to an overnight attack on a major petrochemical site with a strike on Saudi Arabia's huge downstream oil industry site at Jubail, where Western oil firms operate multi-billion-dollar ventures. Video verified by Reuters showed smoke and flames rising.