Updated April 6, 2026 at 3:08 PM EDT
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President Trump repeated threats to Iran during during his Monday press conference, including against Iran's civilian infrastructure if a deal to end the war is not reached by Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET. Negotiations, he said, must include an open Strait of Hormuz.
"Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again. I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to, we don't want that to happen," Trump told reporters.
He added: "We may even get involved with helping them rebuild their nation."
After days of flip-flopping messaging, vacillating from demanding Iran open the Strait of Hormuz to telling U.S. allies it's up to them to open it to an Easter Sunday profanity-laced social media post demanding Iran open it, Trump said a successful negotiation would have to include "free traffic of oil."
"We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me and part of that deal is going to be, we want free traffic of oil and everything," he said.
Asked about his mixed messages about the status of the war, and whether it was winding down or ramping up amid his latest threats, he said: "I don't know. I can't tell. It depends what they do. This is a critical period. They have a period of, well, till tomorrow, at eight o'clock."
Trump said he can't discuss a potential ceasefire, but the U.S. has "an active, willing participant on the other side" of negotiations.
Asked if he's concerned that bombing of power plants and bridges would amount to war crimes, Trump said, "No. I hope I don't have to do it."
He opened the press conference by describing the successful rescue mission for the downed airman over the weekend.
Trump spent several minutes describing the rescue mission, calling his decision to authorize the rescue as "risky" and "hard."
"But in the U.S. military. We leave no American behind," he said. The president claimed Iran "got lucky" when they took out the U.S. fighter jet.
CIA Director John Radcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine all recounted the rescue operation at the press conference — Trump's first since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran more than a month ago.
The news conference comes days after Trump formally addressed the nation from the White House last week and said the conflict would end "shortly." At that address, he criticized other countries, though didn't name any specifically, and said it was up to others to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the route through which 20% of the world's oil is transported.
Iran's closure of the strait during the war has led to a jump in gas prices globally, hitting around $4 per gallon last week in the U.S.
The president has also been threatening a surge in strikes on Iran Tuesday, unless the strait is reopened by tomorrow evening.
"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran," Trump said on social media over the weekend, "Open the F***in' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!"
The post comes as negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have made some progress. A 45-day ceasefire proposal was submitted to the U.S. and Iran on Sunday. On Monday, Trump called the proposal "a significant step."
The president has repeatedly said the war would last roughly six weeks. But now, in its sixth week, the timeline on when the war would end and how achievable Trump's objectives are remain unclear.
For weeks, Trump has been moving the goal posts on the administration's goals with Iran, including whether the U.S. will remove Iran's uranium stockpiles. Trump has also suggested that the U.S. could end the war but strike Iran again later if they aim to build up nuclear defenses.
Polling shows that Americans oppose the war in Iran. Even among Republican supporters of the president, his approval rating has dipped. A CNN poll released last week showed that Republicans who strongly approve of Trump's job performance dropped to 43%, compared to 52% in January.
High costs, including gas prices, remain a top of mind concern for voters heading into the midterm elections in roughly six months. On Monday, Trump said the high prices might last into the summer.
"We're never going to let them have a nuclear weapon," Trump said of Iran. "And if we have to pay a little extra for fuel for a couple of months, and we'll do that, but we're never going to allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
Copyright 2026 NPR
