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A timeline of Trump’s escalating deadlines on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz

A timeline of Trump’s escalating deadlines on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump issued a fresh ultimatum to Iran on Tuesday, demanding that all vessels be allowed to transit through the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on critical infrastructure. The warning comes after weeks of escalating threats and missed deadlines. “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 in a Truth Social post. “We will find out tonight — one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world,” he added, referencing his 8 p.m. ET deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire and reopen the strait. Trump’s warning sharply raises the stakes in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but vital artery for the global energy supply, where disruptions have sent oil and gas prices surging worldwide. WHY THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ MATTERS AS TRUMP ISSUES FRESH ULTIMATUM TO IRAN The waterway, which lies between Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, is one of the world’s most critical energy choke points, carrying roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day along with about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas, as well as refined fuels such as jet fuel. The strait is also a vital artery for refined fuels, including products like jet fuel. The latest threat builds on a pattern of deadlines Trump has imposed on Tehran over the strait. Here is a timeline of those demands: In a Truth Social post, Trump declared that if Iran did not “FULLY OPEN” the strait within 48 hours, the United States would “obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Ali Mousavi, Iran’s permanent representative to the International Maritime Organization, responded by saying that the Strait of Hormuz was “open to everyone” except Tehran’s enemies. Meanwhile, other Iranian officials warned that attacks on energy infrastructure would amount to an attack on the Iranian people and would be met with retaliation. SAN FRANCISCO BECOMES FIRST US CITY WHERE DIESEL PRICES TOP $8 A GALLON Two days later, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the U.S. had had “productive” conversations with Iran and that he had ordered the Pentagon to delay any strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days. Iranian officials publicly denied that any talks were taking place. Trump again extended his deadline — this time by 10 days, to April 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern — saying in a social media post that he was “pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction” at the Iranian government’s request. WHERE GAS PRICES ARE RISING FASTEST AS TRUMP ISSUES FRESH WARNING TO IRAN Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that “great progress” had been made in negotiations to end the conflict. At the same time, he warned that if a deal was not reached and the Strait of Hormuz was not “immediately” opened, the United States would destroy Iran’s power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island — the country’s main oil export hub — and “possibly all” desalination plants. Trump said Iran requested a cease-fire, a claim Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson called “false and baseless,” according to the state news agency IRIB. In a social media post, Trump said the United States would consider a cease-fire only once the strait was “open, free and clear,” adding: “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” WHERE GAS PRICES ARE RISING FASTEST AS TRUMP ISSUES FRESH WARNING TO IRAN Trump warned in a Truth Social post that “time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”  The post followed several conflicting statements in previous days, in which he alternately criticized allies for not acting to reopen the strait and suggested it would reopen on its own. In a profanity-laced post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump wrote: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—–’ Strait, you crazy b——-, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” he wrote in a second post.

Vance says Iran has ‘2 pathways’ as 12-hour deadline looms, prays US on ‘God’s side’ in nixing nuclear threat

Vance says Iran has ‘2 pathways’ as 12-hour deadline looms, prays US on ‘God’s side’ in nixing nuclear threat

Vice President JD Vance said that Iran has “two pathways” it can take regarding the conclusion of the war as President Donald Trump’s 12-hour deadline is looming Tuesday for the regime to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power plants and bridges.  Vance, speaking in Hungary, also said he is praying that the United States is on “God’s side” in its pursuit to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.  “There are two pathways that this thing is ultimately going to end. First of all, the United States has largely accomplished its military objectives,” Vance said. “There are still some things that we’d like to do, for example, on Iranian ability to manufacture weapons, that we’d like to do a little bit more work on militarily. But fundamentally, the military objectives of the United States have been completed.”  “I think there really are two pathways, and I’m oversimplifying this a little bit, but I think pathway one is where the Iranians decide they’re going to be a normal country. They’re not going to fund terrorism anymore. They’re going to be part of the world system of commerce and exchange,” Vance continued. “And that’s going to mean much better things for them economically. It’s going to mean better things for the peace and safety of the world. It’s going to mean a lot of good things for a lot of people all over the planet. That’s option A.”  LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP DEADLINE FOR IRAN TICKS CLOSER AS ISLAMIC REPUBLIC REJECTS TEMPORARY CEASEFIRE “Option B is that the Iranians don’t come to the table and they stay committed to terrorism, to terrorizing their neighbors, not just Israel but of course their Arab neighbors too. Then the economic situation in Iran is going to continue to be very, very bad. And frankly, it will probably get worse,” the vice president said.  “The president also has been very clear that while the Iranians are trying to exact as much economic cost through the Strait of Hormuz, the United States has the ability to extract much greater economic costs on Iran than Iran has an ability to extract costs on us or on our friends in the world,” Vance also said. “So I hope that they’re smart. The president has set a deadline for about 12 hours from now, and the United States, we’re going to find out. But there’s going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then, and I’m hopeful that it gets to a good resolution.”  HEGSETH TIES IRAN RESCUE TO EASTER STORY AND JESUS CHRIST: ‘A PILOT REBORN’ Vance told reporters Tuesday that his attitude toward military conflict has been to pray that “we are on God’s side.” “We’re doing this because we don’t want a regime that has committed acts of terrorism to have the world’s most dangerous weapon. Because that would mean a lot of innocent people dead,” Vance said about the war. “I certainly hope that God agrees with the decision that Iran shouldn’t have a nuclear weapon, but I’ll keep praying about it.”  Vance also accused Iran of unleashing “acts of economic terrorism” that are obstructing the free flow of gas and oil around the world.  “So they’ve got to know, we’ve got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use. The president of the United States can decide to use them, and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don’t change their course of conduct,” he warned.  Vance also confirmed Tuesday that “we were going to strike some military targets on Kharg Island” and “I believe we have done so.”

DeSantis urges Florida lawmakers to ban cousin marriages, links practice to ‘stealth jihad’

DeSantis urges Florida lawmakers to ban cousin marriages, links practice to ‘stealth jihad’

Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken pride in making Florida a leader among red states, but he acknowledged Monday that it was behind in banning cousin marriages, which he is hoping will be outlawed in the near future. “Florida doesn’t ban cousin marriage: That’s a hanging curveball for us to do; we need to do that,” DeSantis, famously a fan of baseball, said at a Tampa signing ceremony on another new law empowering state officials to designate groups as terrorist organizations and expel students who support them. DeSantis urged state lawmakers to ban marriage between first cousins, reopening debate over a practice that remains legal in Florida but is barred in most states. “Other states have done it,” DeSantis continued. “I don’t know why we wouldn’t, but obviously that feeds into some of the stealth jihad that we see, when you’re allowing things like that. It’s things that are coming in from other cultures that are not consistent with the United States culture, and certainly our culture here in Florida.” GOP GOVERNOR LAYS OUT PLAN TO ‘PURGE’ TERRORISTS AND TERROR SUPPORTERS FROM STATE Florida already bans marriages involving close relatives such as siblings, parents, grandparents, nieces and nephews, but first cousins are not on the prohibited list. The governor’s push follows the failure of HB 733, a 2025 proposal that would have added first cousins to the ban starting July 1. Supporters of such a measure cite public health concerns tied to a higher risk of genetic disorders, while critics argue the issue falls under personal freedom and private family decisions. REPUBLICAN SAYS ‘MUSLIMS DON’T BELONG IN AMERICAN SOCIETY,’ DRAWS FIERCE DEMOCRATIC BACKLASH DeSantis teased future action on a cousin marriage ban last month. “For some reason the ban on cousin marriages was dropped during the legislative process,” DeSantis wrote on X. “Stay tuned.” FLORIDA DESIGNATES MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND CAIR AS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS, DESANTIS SAYS This is DeSantis’ last legislative session as governor, as he terms out at the end of this year, but there remains the possibility he could call for a special session to reintroduce the effort, if not HB 733, Florida Politics reported Monday. “Now, there were some things that were a part of this package that we may need to add in upcoming, because I think there were some things that we really need,” DeSantis said, calling it an “important” issue for American culture and immigration law. “We have got to stop as a country importing people that reject the values of this country, and that’s just been going on for a long time,” he added. GOP WHIP: ‘AMERICA-HATING TERRORISTS’ SHOULD LOSE CITIZENSHIP UNDER SCAM ACT DeSantis pointed to the recent arrest of the niece and grand niece of late Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani by federal agents following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s termination of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. “How do they get to where she was even here to begin with?” the governor asked. “What is it about our laws or administrative bureaucracy over what, I think, a period of four or five years?” TEXAS GOV ABBOTT DECLARES CAIR, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS TERRORIST GROUPS, PREVENTING LAND PURCHASES DeSantis’ newly signed law empowers the state’s chief of domestic security, governor and cabinet to designate any organization they determine engages in extremist acts as a “terrorist organization.” After such a designation, the group can be forcibly dissolved and face a freeze on state funding, according to the legislation. It also says students shall be expelled from their institution if they “promoted a domestic terrorist organization or a foreign terrorist organization.” Reuters contributed to this report.

Trump warns ‘whole civilization will die tonight,’ as Iranian official urges human chains around power plants

Trump warns ‘whole civilization will die tonight,’ as Iranian official urges human chains around power plants

President Donald Trump warned in a Tuesday Truth Social post that an entire “civilization will die tonight,” issuing the ominous message as his threat of a devastating U.S. attack against Iranian bridges and power plants loomed. “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump declared in the post. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” he added. TRUMP DEADLINE FOR IRAN TICKS CLOSER AS ISLAMIC REPUBLIC REJECTS TEMPORARY CEASEFIRE Iranian official Alireza Rahimi put out a video message urging “all young people, athletes, artists, students and university students and their professors” to create human chains around power plants, The Associated Press reported. In a prior Truth Social post issued on Easter Sunday, the president had threatened a Tuesday attack on the Middle Eastern country’s power plants and bridges. “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F[—]in’ Strait, you crazy b——-, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” the president declared in the post. IRAN WAR NEARS ‘COMPLETION’ AS TRUMP EYES DEADLINE — WHAT THE ENDGAME COULD LOOK LIKE During remarks on Monday, Trump indicated the U.S. has “a plan… where 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.” “We don’t want that to happen,” he said. Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, who quit last month over his opposition to the Iran war, warned on Tuesday that the president’s proposed course of action would threaten America’s status as the world’s top superpower. ILHAN OMAR CALLS TRUMP AN ‘UNHINGED LUNATIC,’ URGES BOOTING HIM OUT OF OFFICE “Trump believes he is threatening Iran with destruction, but it is America that now stands in danger. If he attempts to eradicate Iranian civilization, the United States will no longer be viewed as a stabilizing force in the world, but as an agent of chaos—effectively ending our status as the world’s greatest superpower,” Kent wrote in a post on X. “This would upend our economy and shatter the global order. The process is already underway, yet we still have time to avert catastrophe if Trump finds the courage to pursue serious negotiations rather than reckless rage and destruction.”