Trump threatens to bomb Iran ‘into the Stone Age’ – The Times
President Trump said that the US had drawn up plans to destroy all Iran’s bridges and power plants over a four-hour period on Tuesday if it failed to meet his deadline for a deal that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Although Tehran publicly rejected the latest ceasefire proposals, Trump said the regime was “negotiating in good faith” but he still threatened to bomb the country “to the stone ages” in one night if it did not co-operate.
At a White House press conference Trump rejected accusations that bombing civilian infrastructure in Iran would amount to a war crime or that he lacked a strategy for ending the war.
“I have the best plan of all,” he said. Later he added: “To be a good president, I believe you have to have good instincts, and a lot of this is instinct.”
Trump’s deadline for Iran to agree a deal ends at 8pm eastern time on Tuesday (1am BST). “After that, they’re gonna have no bridges, no power plants. Stone ages, yeah, stone ages,” he said. “We have a plan… where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock [midnight] … 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, and it’ll happen over a period of four hours — if we wanted to.”
The IRGC said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz “will never return to its former status, especially for the US and Israel”. Referring to Trump’s threats to destroy Iranian infrastructure, Esmail Baghaei, the foreign ministry spokesman, told a press conference that negotiations with the US were “incompatible with ultimatums and threats to commit war crimes”.
Trump, however, maintained that senior members of his team were in touch with Iranian negotiators. Countries including Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey said that they were doing all they could to bring an end to the war.
Britain would not allow Trump to use British bases for any strikes on Iran’s bridges or power plants, it was reported. Government sources said the agreement for the use of UK bases was for specific and defensive purposes.
The i newspaper said attacks on bridges and power plants would not come under this definition.
Trump renewed his criticism of Nato and other allies for not doing more to help the US to fight Iran. “It’s not just Nato. You know who else didn’t help us? South Korea didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Japan,” he said.
• Sign up for The Times’s weekly US newsletter
Trump addressed critics who have said he would be committing war crimes if the US attacked civilian power plants. “I’m not worried about it. You know what’s a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon,” he said.
He referred to the Iranian regime as “very good bullshit artists”, adding: “For 47 years they’ve been bullshitting other presidents. … They have to do certain things. They know that, they’ve been negotiating I think in good faith.”
Trump, who has extended his initial deadline for strikes on civilian infrastructure, gave little indication he would do so again. “Highly unlikely. They’ve had plenty of time,” he said. “In fact, they asked for seven days. I said, I’m going to give you ten. But at the end of ten, all hell’s going to break out.”
The US has been negotiating with Iran indirectly through Pakistan, trying to get a deal in which Iran will rule out nuclear weapons and reopen the strait. Trump said JD Vance, the vice-president, and Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, were involved in the talks.
Trump said he would ideally take control of Iran’s oil but accepted that US public opinion was against a lengthy American presence in the country.
“If I had my choice, what would I like to do? Take the oil because it’s there for the taking,” he said.
“There’s not a thing they can do about it. Unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home.”
Promoted Content
© Times Media Limited 2025.
Registered in England No. 894646. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.
Enjoy unlimited access to all articles. Ends soon.
Enjoy unlimited digital access.
Already have an account? Log in