President Trump followed up Sunday morning's profanity-laced tirade directed at Iran with further threats to the country, telling ABC News later in the day that if no deal is reached by Tuesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, "we're blowing up the whole country." He also reiterated his threat to go after the country's bridges and power plants, and the Wall Street Journal reports that top advisers are telling Trump such civilian infrastructure is fair game. In recent days aides have argued that knocking out such sites could hobble Tehran's missile and nuclear ambitions, a rationale human-rights groups and legal experts say pushes the limits of the laws of war.
The US has already hit a bridge near Tehran, killing at least 13, according to Iranian state media, and Trump has threatened more bridges and then power plants could be next. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has briefed him that roads and electric facilities can be targeted because they support military logistics. Military-law specialists counter that civilian infrastructure is only lawful to hit if there's a concrete, proportionate military advantage. Gulf allies are worried strikes on Iran's grid could trigger retaliation on their energy sites, while humanitarian groups warn blacking out power—and possibly water desalination plants—would endanger hospitals, sanitation, and basic survival, raising serious questions under the Geneva Conventions. Per the New York Times, "No other recent American president has talked so openly about committing potential war crimes."
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