President Trump warned Monday he would carry out a “complete demolition” of every bridge and power plant in Iran unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened by Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. With that deadline nearing, Iranian officials dismissed the U.S. demand and put forward a 10-point counterproposal, the New York Times reported.
The plan, according to the report, sought a guarantee that Iran would not be attacked again, an end to Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, lifting of sanctions in exchange for reopening the strait, and a $2 million transit fee imposed by Iran on each ship using the waterway.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that “more than 14 million brave Iranians have so far declared their readiness to sacrifice their lives to defend Iran. I too have been, am, and will be sacrificing my life for Iran.” Those comments followed an appeal from Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth Alireza Rahimi urging citizens — including young people, cultural figures and athletes — to form human chains beside power plants. “We will stand hand in hand next to power plants across the country, with every belief and taste, to say: attacking public infrastructure is a war crime,” Rahimi wrote.
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Mughadam, said Islamabad’s mediation efforts were entering a “critical, sensitive” phase and outlined Tehran’s negotiating stance in state-linked media: “A complete cessation of the war is Tehran’s maximum demand in the process of peace diplomacy,” he said, adding that any deal must include “a guarantee of non-repetition of aggression.” He also warned unnamed Gulf states to consider their ties with Iran, saying, “Know that sooner or later America will leave this region by accepting defeat and you will stay.”
The U.N. Security Council was expected to table a resolution sponsored by Bahrain demanding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET.
On the military front, Israel said it struck one of the remaining petrochemical facilities in Shiraz that it accused of producing ballistic missile and explosive materials, along with a ballistic missile site in northwestern Iran and other infrastructure. Israel also warned Iranians via X to avoid train travel and stay away from railway tracks.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles into central Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The barrage led to the temporary closure of the King Fahd Bridge between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Saudi officials said they were assessing damage to an energy facility from falling debris after dozens of ballistic missiles and drones were intercepted. The United Arab Emirates also reported using air defenses to engage incoming missiles and drones.
Reporter contributions: Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai and Tina Kraja in Washington, D.C.