Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Trump said “the entire country could be taken out in one night and that night might be tomorrow night,” as a U.S. deadline for Tehran was set to expire on Tuesday night.
Washington is demanding that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has threatened strikes on Iranian power plants and other critical infrastructure if no agreement is reached.
Earlier on Monday, Iran rejected a proposed 45-day ceasefire and instead called for a permanent end to the war, state news agency IRNA reported. Tehran conveyed its position to the United States via Pakistan, which is reported to be a key intermediary.
The Iranian message reportedly included a 10-point response covering reconstruction proposals and the lifting of sanctions.
“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again”, Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press.
He added that Iran no longer trusted the U.S. administration after previous strikes during earlier rounds of talks.
Earlier at the White House during the Easter Egg Roll, Trump described Iran’s latest proposal as “a very significant step”, but added: “It’s not good enough”.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled further escalation, saying the pace of military action was rising.
“Today will be the largest volume of strikes since day one”, he said. “Tomorrow, even more than today”.
According to an update from U.S. Central Command cited by TRT, U.S. forces have carried out more than 13,000 strikes across Iran since the war began.
More than a month into the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, American losses have begun to mount. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed, while two others died of non-combat causes.
The White House is now seeking what TRT described as the biggest expansion in military spending since World War Two. The proposal would raise defense spending to USD 1.5 trillion, up 42% from a year earlier, alongside cuts to domestic agencies handling climate, housing and education programs.
Separately, the Pentagon is seeking another USD 200 billion for the war in Iran, whose incremental cost through March 19 was estimated at between USD 16.2 billion and USD 23.4 billion.
New figures cited by Euronews suggest that more than 5,200 people have been killed across the Middle East since the war began on Feb. 28. An AFP compilation of government and official data put the toll at 3,546 in Iran, 1,497 in Lebanon, 34 in Israel, four in the occupied West Bank, 108 in Iraq and 41 across Gulf states.
(jh)
Source: PAP, NBC, TRT, Euronews