Trump Issues New Ultimatum to Iran, Tehran's Scathing Response
US President Donald Trump has once again urged Tehran to promptly agree to a peace deal by issuing an ultimatum to destroy Iran’s electricity and water facilities.
Trump conveyed the threat via a post on the Truth Social platform. He stated that Washington is engaged in “serious discussions” with what he described as a “more reasonable regime” in Tehran and expressed optimism that a negotiated resolution would soon be achieved.
However, he warned that if no agreement is reached, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz shipping route, the US would destroy “all their power plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalination plants!).”
The threats against civilian infrastructure such as power plants and freshwater facilities are seen as potentially violating international humanitarian law and possibly constituting war crimes.
Tensions are rising amid risks of further escalation, including the possibility of US ground operations to seize Kharg Island, a terminal handling nearly all of Iran’s oil exports. This uncertainty is also shaking global financial markets, with oil prices heading towards the highest monthly gain in history.
Meanwhile, citing The Guardian on Tuesday (31/3/2026), Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stated that Tehran has received a 15-point proposal from the Trump administration following talks between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. However, he emphasised that there are no direct negotiations with Washington.
He described the US demands as “excessive, unrealistic, and irrational.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf rejected the talks in Islamabad as a pretext for increasing US troop presence in the region. He stated that Iranian forces “are waiting for the arrival of US troops on the ground to burn them and punish their regional partners forever,” according to state media.
Human rights groups have criticised Trump’s threats. Amnesty International’s senior director of research and advocacy, Erika Guevara-Rosas, said that deliberately attacking civilian infrastructure like power plants is generally prohibited.
“Even in limited cases where such facilities are considered military targets, a party must still not attack power plants if it could cause disproportionate harm to civilians,” she said.
“Given that these power plants are essential for meeting the basic needs and livelihoods of tens of millions of civilians, attacking them would be disproportionate and thus violate international humanitarian law, and could constitute a war crime,” she added.