President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight” but said Iran still has time to capitulate ahead of a deadline set for 8 p.m. in Washington.

The American leader issued the stark threat Tuesday, about 12 hours ahead of his deadline for Iran to agree to a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz or face punishing strikes.

Iran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war as Trump’s ultimatum to make a deal ticked closer with an expanded threat of strikes against the Islamic Republic to include all power plants and bridges.

Trump said Monday he is “not at all” concerned about committing possible war crimes as he again threatened to destroy Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned the U.S. that attacking civilian infrastructure is banned under international law, his spokesperson said Monday.

Here is the latest:

Iranian diplomat responds to Trump’s latest threat

Responding to Trump saying “a civilization will die tonight,” an Iranian diplomat described the country’s civilization as a tree that nourished the West.

“Therefore, no fool would cut off the branch of a tree he is sitting on because he himself would fall first, and it is the sturdy tree that always stands, not the branches and appendages that have grown from it,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press.

Iran fires more missiles at Israel

Just before sunset on Tuesday — twice in less than half an hour — Israel’s military said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran.

Sirens went off in the Tel Aviv area as well as parts of the occupied West Bank.

Rubio accuses Iran of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday accused Iran of committing acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz by attacking commercial shipping vessels attempting to navigate the key waterway.

“The whole world has been impacted, unfortunately, because Iran is violating every law known by striking commercial vessels in the Straits of Hormuz,” Rubio told reporters at the State Department. “It’s a big problem for the world. I mean, this is a regime that doesn’t believe in laws and rules or anything like that. It’s a state sponsor of terrorism, so it is not surprising that they’re now conducting terrorist operations against commercial vessels.”

He declined to respond to a question about what Trump meant when he threatened that “a whole civilization will end tonight” if Iran does not meet U.S. demands to reopen the strait.

Congress, away from Washington, watches and waits on Trump’s threat

Lawmakers are on recess from Washington as Trump threatens to kill “a whole civilization” in the Iran war. So far, the reaction from Congress — which is supposed to have the ultimate say in matters of war — has drawn sharp rebukes from Democrats and mostly silence from Republicans.

Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro called on Trump to immediately make it clear that he is not considering using nuclear weapons, and Colorado Democratic Rep. Jason Crow warned that “calling for the elimination of a civilization is a war crime.”

Most Republicans stayed away from the issue, though Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said on CNN that he was “hoping and praying” that Trump’s threat is “bluster.”

“I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure,” Johnson said.

Democrats intend to force further votes on legislation to rein in Trump’s ability to attack Iran, but not until Congress returns to Washington next week.Dead