Trump "Not Worried" About War Crimes: "Iran Could Be Erased in One Night"

SadaNews - U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against Iran in an unprecedented manner, threatening to destroy its civilian infrastructure within hours, stating that his country has the capacity to execute that immediately if no agreement is reached, recalling the deadline he set for Tehran, which ends Tuesday evening Washington time.

During a press conference held at the White House, Trump said: "We have a plan; it may involve destroying all of Iran's bridges by midnight tomorrow, and putting all power plants in Iran out of service," adding: "All of this will happen within four hours if we wish to do so." He also warned that "the entire country could be destroyed in one night, that night could be tomorrow (Tuesday)."

In the same context, Trump emphasized that Iran was given a deadline until Tuesday evening, noting that the decision is linked to the outcome of the ongoing negotiations, saying: "Mediators are negotiating now and we will see what happens," but stressed that the proposal for a 45-day ceasefire is "not good enough," despite previously describing it as "very important."

During an Easter celebration at the White House, Trump was asked about the possibility of committing war crimes if civilian infrastructure is targeted, to which he replied: "I am not worried about that," adding: "Do you know what a war crime is? A war crime is allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon." In response to a question about how hitting Iranian bridges and power stations is not a war crime, Trump said: "Because they killed 45 thousand last month. They are killing demonstrators. They are animals."

He continued, "Iran must agree to make a deal by tomorrow evening, and part of that is opening up navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," stressing that "reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a very high priority." He repeated his usual threat: "If the Iranians do not reach an agreement, they will have no bridges or power stations, and they will return to the Stone Age."

He emphasized that "Iran has until 8 PM tomorrow and we are negotiating, but I am not saying that we have reached an agreement." In response to a question about the possibility of imposing tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said: "Why don’t we do that? We are the winners."

In the same conference, he said that the Iranians themselves support the continuation of strikes, adding: "Iranians are ready to suffer for freedom," and continued: "We have received many messages from Iranians saying: continue the strikes."

Trump addressed the operation to rescue American pilots whose plane was shot down in Iran, saying that "more than 170 military aircraft" participated in the operation, explaining that "21 planes were involved in the rescue of the first crew member, and 155 other planes in the second mission," and added that "two transport planes got stuck in the sand and the rescue teams had to blow them up."

He also threatened unnamed media with imprisonment if they did not reveal their sources, saying during the conference: "We will go to the media institution... and say to them: national security. Either you disclose the information or you will be imprisoned," referring to the leak of information about an American pilot.

In other statements on the sidelines of the Easter celebration, Trump said that the United States attempted to arm opposition forces inside Iran, explaining: "We sent weapons... for them to fight those thugs," referring to the Iranian authorities, but added: "The people we sent them to kept them for themselves... so I am very angry."

In an interview with Fox News, he said: "We sent weapons to the demonstrators, in large quantities... I believe the Kurds kept the weapons," referring to the role of Kurdish groups.

In a broader context, Trump attacked U.S. allies, especially in NATO, saying during a press conference: "NATO is a paper tiger," adding that Russian President "Putin is not afraid of NATO... he is afraid of us." He also accused allies of having "done everything they can not to help us... they even refused to allow runways for planes to land."

He also reignited the Greenland issue, saying: "We want Greenland... and I told them: goodbye," referring to the dispute with Denmark, a NATO member.

He criticized Washington's allies in Asia as well, saying: "We have 45,000 troops in South Korea to protect it from Kim Jong-un," adding that the latter "said very nice things about me," and considered that the relationship with North Korea is "very good."

These statements come amid ongoing escalation in the war against Iran, coinciding with regional mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire, amidst conflicting indications about the possibility of reaching an agreement.