Updated April 7, 2026 at 12:54 PM EDT
President Trump threatened to annihilate the Iranian nation if a deal is not reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. ET.
"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote on his social media platform.
The president has been escalating his threats over the past weeks to obliterate Iranian bridges, power plants and water treatment facilities. Wide-scale destruction of infrastructure, without distinction between civilian and military objects, would be considered a war crime under international and U.S. law, legal experts tell NPR.
The U.S. struck military targets early Tuesday on Kharg Island, a U.S. official told NPR. The island is Iran's oil export hub on the Persian Gulf, but the official said the targets were not oil infrastructure — they were "restrikes" on sites the U.S. hit previously. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak about it publicly.
In Iraq, an Iranian-backed militia announced it has released American journalist Shelly Kittleson a week after kidnapping her in Baghdad. NPR is working to confirm she is freed.
Earlier, Iranian officials rejected U.S. demands and presented a plan of their own, and Iran's president said that he was willing to die along with millions of Iranians to defend his country.
Iran's 10-point proposal included a guarantee that Iran would not be attacked again, an end to Israeli strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and removal of sanctions in exchange for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran imposing a $2 million fee for every ship moving through the key waterway, according to The New York Times.
With the clock ticking, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media: "More than 14 million proud Iranians have so far registered to sacrifice their lives to defend Iran. I too have been, am, and will remain devoted to giving my life for Iran."
Pezeshkian's message appeared to be in response to a call by Iran's deputy minister of sports and youth, Alireza Rahimi, late Monday for "young people, cultural and artistic figures, athletes" to form human chains next to the power plants across Iran. Rahimi wrote: "Attacking public infrastructure is a war crime."
Here are more updates on the war in Iran today:
Iranian envoy on negotiations | Strikes in the region
Iran's envoy says efforts to stop the war are "approaching a critical" period
Iran's ambassador in Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said on Tuesday that Pakistan's efforts to stop the war are "approaching a critical, sensitive" period.
But Moghadam sounded less enthusiastic in an interview with state-run media, where he set out the country's position: "A complete cessation of the war is Tehran's maximum demand in the process of peace diplomacy," adding, "with a guarantee of nonrepetition of aggression."
Moghadam also warned Gulf countries, which he did not name, to "pay attention to their conditions and relations with Iran." He warned: "Know that sooner or later America will leave this region by accepting defeat and you will stay."
Israel attacks Iran's petrochemical facilities, Iran hits energy facility in Saudi Arabia
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is stepping up its attacks against Iran, hitting railways and bridges he says are used to transport weapons and military equipment and regime operatives.
He says the strikes weren't aimed against civilians but to crush the regime.
Israel had issued a warning to Iranians to avoid travel by train and to stay away from railway tracks. The warning was posted on social media but the internet has been largely shut down across the country.
Earlier, Israel's military said it attacked one of the "few remaining" petrochemical facilities producing ballistic missile and explosive material in Shiraz, in southern Iran. It also said it struck a ballistic missile site in northwestern Iran and infrastructure across the country.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles in central Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, forcing the closure of the key King Fahd bridge between the two Gulf countries.
Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it was assessing damage on its energy facility caused by falling debris from dozens of ballistic missiles and drones intercepted by its air defense systems on Tuesday.
The United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems engaged with incoming missiles and drones on Tuesday, while Kuwait's army said it shot down 17 "hostile drones" in the past 24 hours.
Daniel Estrin and Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv, Israel, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai, India, and Tina Kraja and Alex Leff in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
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