On April 7, 2026, Trump escalated his rhetoric to its most extreme yet: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” He had designated Tuesday as “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one” — threatening to simultaneously destroy all of Iran's power plants and bridges by his 8 PM ET deadline.
He wrote: “Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again... complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours.” He added: “The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.”
Over 100 legal experts signed an open letter stating these threats constitute war crimes. Two former JAG officers wrote that Trump's orders “run counter to decades of legal training” and are “plainly illegal.” Kenneth Roth, former Human Rights Watch executive director, called it “openly threatening” a war crime.
Iran responded by urging human chains around power plants. Fourteen million Iranians declared readiness to “sacrifice their lives” to protect infrastructure. Saudi Arabia closed the King Fahd Causeway to Bahrain over Iranian missile threats.
Hours before the deadline, the U.S. struck Kharg Island — hitting 50+ military targets. Railway bridges and freeways were struck across Iran. A railway bridge strike killed 2 people.
This is a president threatening to destroy life-supporting infrastructure for 93 million people — calling it the death of “a whole civilization” — while 100+ legal experts call it a war crime and his own former military lawyers call his orders “plainly illegal.”