Pakistan seeks Iran ceasefire as Trump’s deadline approaches

Hours before a self-imposed evening deadline, US President Donald Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran moves to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, as Pakistan mounted a last-minute push for a two-week ceasefire to keep diplomacy alive.

With only a short window remaining before the US president’s 8pm (1am Irish time) cutoff, Tehran was giving Pakistan’s appeal a positive review in an effort to buy more time for talks, according to a senior Iranian official.

The White House said Mr Trump had been informed of the proposal and would issue a response.

Mr Trump’s dramatic threat to wipe out every bridge and power plant in Iran unless the Gulf oil blockade is lifted sent a jolt through world capitals, shook energy and financial markets, and triggered broad condemnation, including from the United Nations chief and Pope Leo.

Iran stands firm as US pressure escalates

As the deadline approached, US and Israeli attacks across Iran intensified, striking road and rail bridges, an airport and a petrochemical facility. US forces also hit targets on Kharg Island, the site of Iran’s main oil export terminal.

Iran hit back by saying it would no longer restrain itself from targeting infrastructure in neighbouring Gulf states, and announced fresh attacks on a vessel in the Gulf and a vast Saudi petrochemical complex.

Explosions were heard in Doha.

Now in its sixth week, the war has killed more than 5,000 people across nearly a dozen countries, including more than 1,600 civilians in Iran, according to counts compiled from government sources and human rights groups.

Smoke billows after strikes on Tehran

The closure of the strait, a route that normally carries nearly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, has driven oil prices sharply higher and raised fears of a global slowdown or even recession.

As campaigning for the US midterm elections gathers pace, Mr Trump’s approval ratings have fallen to their lowest point yet, putting his Republican Party’s control of Congress in jeopardy.

Polling indicates large majorities of Americans oppose the war and are angered by rising gasoline prices.

Anti-war demonstrators gathered outside the US Embassy in Tel Aviv

Talks remain clouded

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government is acting as a go-between, said in a post on X that Mr Trump should push back his deadline by two weeks and that Iran should reopen the Strait of Hormuz for the same period as a gesture of goodwill.

Even so, the status of any negotiations remained murky, with Mr Trump and Iranian leaders continuing to trade hostile warnings.

About five hours before the deadline, an Iranian official told Reuters that messages were still being passed between Washington and Tehran through mediators, but offered no further detail.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply troubled” by Mr Trump’s comments, his spokesperson said. Pope Leo said threats directed at Iran’s population were “unacceptable.”

Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, described Mr Trump’s warning as “deeply irresponsible” and “profoundly alarming.”

Addressing a UN Security Council meeting, where China and Russia vetoed a resolution intended to safeguard commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Mr Iravani said Mr Trump’s “rhetoric is unfitting of any political leader.”

The Israeli military said fire towards Israel could increase as Mr Trump’s ultimatum drew closer. It said its forces were prepared to act both “defensively and offensively”.

Across Iran, many were also counting down in hopes of a reprieve. “I hope it is another bluff by Trump,” said Shima, 37, from the central city of Isfahan.

Over recent weeks, Mr Trump has abruptly withdrawn similar threats, saying he believed negotiations with figures in Iran – whom he did not identify – were proving productive. Tehran has denied any substantive talks of that kind took place.

Brian Finucane, a former US State Department legal adviser now at the International Crisis Group, said Mr Trump’s remarks “could plausibly be interpreted as a threat to commit genocide” under US and international law.

Markets on edge

Global markets were largely frozen, unwilling to make a clear bet on whether Mr Trump would ultimately carry out his threats.

Before Mr Trump’s deadline arrived, Kuwait’s Interior Ministry told residents to stay home from midnight to 6am on Wednesday as a “precautionary measure.”

The US State Department instructed US citizens in Bahrain to shelter in place, urged Americans in Egypt to take care, and advised people to reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia.

Iran’s Borna news agency reported that air defences had been activated over Tehran, with fighter jets flying low above the capital.

Israel launched another wave of attacks on Iranian infrastructure after warning Iranians in a Persian-language social media post that anyone near rail lines would be at risk.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had targeted train tracks and bridges used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to move operatives, weapons and raw materials, though he provided no evidence for the claim.

Iran’s Amirkabir petrochemicals plant was hit by the US and Israel on this evening, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Iran answered an overnight strike on a major petrochemical facility by targeting Saudi Arabia’s vast downstream oil complex at Jubail, where Western oil companies run multi-billion-dollar operations. Video verified by Reuters showed flames and smoke rising.