US President Donald Trump at the James S. White House White House in Washington, DC on April 06, 2026. Brady speaks during a news conference in the press briefing room.
Alex Wong | getty images
President Donald Trump stepped up his threats against Iran on Tuesday, warning that “an entire civilization will die tonight” if the country’s leadership does not reach a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
A White House official confirmed to CNBC that the threat came after US forces overnight attacked military targets on Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal.
“An entire civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote Tuesday morning. true social.
“However, now that we have complete and total regime change, where different, smarter and less radical minds prevail, maybe something revolutionary wonderful can happen, who knows?” He has written.
“Tonight we explore one of the most important moments in the world’s long and complex history.”
Iran has blocked most oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz since the war between the US and Israel began in late February. The shutdown dealt a historic blow to oil supplies, causing global energy prices to rise sharply.
Trump has claimed that Iran’s military has been “destroyed”, but acknowledged that it still controls traffic flows through the strait, giving it a significant advantage.
In a belligerent Easter social media post on Sunday, he threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants by Tuesday night and demanded of Tehran, “Open the fuckin’ strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be in hell.”
They later set the deadline for Tuesday at 8 pm ET.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Trump’s latest post.
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