Washington, April 6 US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to completely destroy Iran within four hours if it did not agree to a deal by Tuesday night, while dismissing allegations of possible war crimes in the event of attacks on power plants and bridges.
"We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be destroyed by 12 o'clock tomorrow (Tuesday) night, where every power plant in Iran will be shut down, burning, exploding, and never to be used again, I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours, if we wanted to," Trump told a press conference here.
He asked Iran to make a deal with the US and open the Strait of Hormuz for free movement of oil by 8 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday.
When asked about allegations of carrying out possible war crimes if the US attacks Iran's bridges and power plants, Trump said: "No, not at all."
Trump insisted that Iranians want him to conduct more strikes and they are "willing to suffer" for freedom.
Trump said the US may even help Iran in rebuilding the country if it agrees to a deal.
"We may even get involved with helping them rebuild their nation," Trump said.
Iran has rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war.
The US has stepped up threats against Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face a barrage of attacks on civilian targets. "Today will be the largest volume of strikes since day one," United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said.
"Tomorrow, even more than today. And then Iran has a choice. Choose wisely, because this president does not play around. You can ask Soleimani, you can ask Maduro. You can ask Khamenei," Hegseth said, with Trump by his side.