‘Entire Iran could be taken out Tuesday’: Trump says ‘they want to make a deal’

US President Donald Trump on Monday (April 6) claimed that all of Iran could be "taken out" on Tuesday after the expiry of a deadline he laid out to open the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which 20 per cent of global oil transits. Trump asserted that the deadline he has set to make a deal is final and is "unlikely" to be extended.

The US leadership, including Trump, appears to adopt a carrot-and-stick approach, as earlier he described a 45-day ceasefire proposal in the Iran war as a "very significant step" but "not good enough" while also articulating the goal of the conflict in one line for the first time: "Tehran can't have nuclear weapons."

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said "Iran has a choice," adding that it should "choose wisely" and that "this president does not play around." Trump, while declining to speak directly about ceasefire talks, said he had "willing participants on the other side" who "really want to make a deal."

He reiterated his threat, saying: "They just don't want to say 'uncle.' They don't want to cry, as the expression goes, ‘uncle’, but they will. And if they don't, they'll have no bridges. They'll have no power plants. They'll have nothing."

Also Read: ‘Iran can’t have nuclear weapon’: Trump calls ceasefire proposal a ‘significant step’

Trump also urged Iranians to rise against their regime, warning that "the consequences are strong." He noted that some 45,000 people had been killed for protesting, reiterated that "we can't have Iran having a nuclear weapon," and claimed the country had undergone regime change, with the new leadership being "much less radical," while stressing that regime change was not the original goal of the conflict.

His remarks came after Iran formally rejected the US ceasefire proposal, conveying its response via Pakistan, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. Tehran instead stressed the need for a "permanent end to the war" rather than a temporary truce, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei asserting that "negotiation is in no way compatible with ultimatums, with crimes, or with the threat of committing war crimes."

Iran's response outlined a 10-clause framework that includes an end to conflicts across the region, guarantees for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting of sanctions, and commitments toward reconstruction.