Trump says Iran could be ‘taken out’ on Tuesday, Hegseth says major strikes to

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will order sweeping attacks on Iranian power plants and bridges on Tuesday night unless Tehran makes a deal aimed at ending the five-week war, Reuters reports.

Trump’s vow at a White ‌House press conference came ahead of the 8 p.m. EDT deadline on Tuesday (0000 GMT Wednesday) that he set for Iran to comply with U.S. conditions.

Trump is demanding Iran forswear nuclear weapons and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil transit waterway. He said: “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.” “I hope I don’t have to do it,” Trump said, according to Reuters.

He said the U.S. has a plan “where every bridge in Iran will be decimated” by midnight EDT (0400 GMT) Wednesday and “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’ll happen over a period of four hours if we want it to. We don’t want that to happen,” he said.

Critics have said Trump would be committing war crimes if the U.S. attacks civilian power plants, a point Trump dismissed on Monday. “I’m not worried about it. You know what’s a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said earlier on Monday during an Easter egg event for children on the White House South Lawn, according to Reuters.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told the press conference that the heaviest strikes since the start of the Iran conflict would take place on Monday and warned that Tuesday would have even more.

Speaking to reporters earlier at the Easter event, Trump said a proposal offered by Iran was inadequate.

“They made a proposal, and it’s a significant proposal. It’s a significant step. It’s not good enough,” Trump said.

He said the war could end quickly if Iran does “what they have to do.”

“They have to do certain things. They know that, they’ve been negotiating I think in good faith,” he said.