Trump appears to strike Iran before deadline, warns ‘civilisation could die tonight’
Donald Trump has posted an unhinged Truth Social rant hours after apparently breaking the deadline he set for Iran by striking Kharg Island.
‘A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,’ he wrote.
‘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?
The message comes after Kharg Island in Iran was attacked, hours before Trump’s ‘deadline’ for the country to reopen the Strait of Hormuz arrives.
Mehr News Agency, a state-run news organisation in Iran, reported a large explosion earlier this morning in the area of the vital island, which is situated in the Persian Gulf.
In a post on Telegram, they reported: ‘The American-Zionist enemy has carried out several attacks on Kharg Island, and several explosions have also been heard on the island.’
Sources have already confirmed that oil refineries were not struck on the island.
Railway bridge in a village near an ammunition and missile depot struck
A railway bridge in the village of Amin Abad, in Zanjan, Iran, was targeted in an airstrike today.
The village is just 3 kilometres from an ammunition and missile depot, local media have said.
Strikes target vital bridge between Tehran and Tabriz
US-Israeli strikes have now reportedly struck a historic railway between two major Iranian cities.
Strikes target vital bridge between Tehran and Tabriz
US-Israeli strikes have now reportedly struck a historic railway between two major Iranian cities.
Israeli military warns Iranians to avoid travelling on train
As strikes on rail infrastructure and bridges continue to grow today, the Israeli military issued a warning to locals to avoid any trains today.
They stressed that going on trains today could ‘endanger your life’.
Railway services in Mashhad, Iran, have since been cancelled after the warning.
Railways in another Iranian city targeted in strike
Reports from local media have reported that railway transport in the city of Qazvin has been targeted in strikes.
The strikes come after Trump threatened to bomb all of Iran’s power plants and bridges if they didn’t agree to his 8pm deadline today.
It’s still several hours before the deadline will come to pass.
The war is reaching a point where it ‘can’t be controlled’, US ally warns
Qatar has warned that the war in the Middle East is close to a threshold where it cannot be controlled after US President Donald Trump set a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
‘We have been warning since 2023 that escalation left unchecked will get us into a situation where it cannot be controlled, and we are very close to that point,’ Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.
‘This is why we have been urging all parties to find a resolution to find a way of ending this war before it’s too late,’ he added.
Gulf countries have faced repeated drone and missile salvos from Iran over recent weeks in response to US and Israeli strikes that began at the end of February.
Iran has targeted hydrocarbon infrastructure in the oil-rich Gulf nations while effectively closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz to shipping, through which one-fifth of global oil usually passes.
Explosions come amid silence from Iran’s new Supreme Leader
Iran’s new Supreme Leader is reportedly unconscious in one of Iran’s holiest cities, unable to run the country he inherited from his dead father.
Earlier today, explosions were reported on a bridge outside of Qom, where Mojtaba Khamenei is reportedly being treated for a ‘severe’ medical condition, according to American and Israeli intelligence.
A memo shared amongst Gulf allies revealed Khamenei’s location for the first time, The Times reported.
The memo mentioned that Khamenei was ‘unable to be involved in any decision-making by the regime’.
What has Trump said about Kharg Island?
Trump has said that the US could take Kharg Island, an economically crucial site, ‘very easily’ but said ‘we have a lot of options’.
Trump has previously claimed he started the war with Israel at the end of March to encourage regime change and to destroy any chance of Tehran building a nuclear weapon.
But in a new interview with the Financial Times, he compared his plans in Iran to the operation in Venezuela at the start of the year, which ended with the US controlling its oil industry.
The president told the newspaper: ‘To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some stupid people back in the US say, “Why are you doing that?”
‘But they’re stupid people.’
What is Kharg Island?
Kharg Island is the primary terminal that handles Iran’s oil exports and is so small (five miles long and three miles wide) that it’s smaller than the area of Westminster, in London.
It handles up to 90 per cent of Iran’s oil products and provides storage facilities for up to 30 million barrels of oil.
The US president has previously threatened to strike oil infrastructure on Kharg Island unless attacks on vessels on the Strait of Hormuz ceased.
The small island is heavily fortified (Picture: AFP)
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that the energy infrastructure of US allies in the Middle East will be ‘reduced to ashes’ if Iranian energy assets are attacked.
It is located 16 miles off the coast of Iran and 300 miles northwest of the Strait of Hormuz.
It’s often referred to as the ‘Forbidden Island’ because it’s so remote from the mainland of Iran and has intense security in place.
Donald Trump appears to break his deadline for Iran hours early
After Donald Trump said this weekend that he was considering whether American forces could seize Kharg Island, explosions have rocked the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has set a deadline for Iran to meet his demands or unleash ‘hell’, adding: ‘Very little is off limits’.
The deadline is set for 8pm Washington DC time today. Explosions have already been reported along the Iraq-Iran border, Kharg Island, a bridge in Qom and on a railway bridge in Kashan.
Yesterday, the President warned: ‘They have till tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. I believe they’re negotiating in good faith. I guess we’ll find out.’
Metro has contacted the White House and the Department of War for further information on the alleged explosions.
Deputy Editor
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
