Iran defiant as deadline looms for Trump threat to infrastructure

A deadline loomed on Tuesday for Iran to accept a deal or face what U.S. President Donald Trump said would be the "complete demolition" of the country's critical civilian infrastructure.

The Iranian army reacted defiantly, saying Trump's "arrogant rhetoric and baseless threats" would not hinder operations against U.S. and Israeli forces.

Five weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, the U.S. leader has demanded that Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz oil conduit to international shipping by midnight GMT on Tuesday or face a newly devastating round of bombing.

"We have 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," Trump said, brushing aside accusations that such a move would be a war crime.

"I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it'll happen over a period of four hours -- if we wanted to," Trump said at a press conference during which he also recounted the rescue of the two crew members of a U.S. F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran last week.

Both Trump and Iran said, meanwhile, that a proposal touted by international mediators for a 45-day ceasefire is not yet ready.

Trump had said earlier that the plan, which the U.S. media said is being mediated by Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey, was a "significant proposal," but he later went on to say it was not good enough.

Iranian state media quoted officials as saying that Tehran too "has rejected a ceasefire and insists on the need for a definitive end to the conflict."

The Iranian army's Khatam Al-Anbiya central command, responding to Trump's threats, called him "delusional" and said "crushing operations of the warriors of Islam against the American and Zionist enemies" would continue.

AFP