WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump used his Monday podium moment to crank the pressure back up on Iran, with language that sounded less like diplomacy and more like a countdown.
As the White House deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz loomed—after reports that Iran rejected the latest ceasefire proposal—Trump warned that “the entire country can be taken out in one night – and that night might be tomorrow night.” He also suggested the U.S. could bomb Iran back to the “stone ages,” then pivoted, almost in the same breath, to talk about “significant” and imminent prospects for peace.
A reporter pressed him on whether he was winding down the U.S. war or ramping it up. “I can’t tell you,” Trump replied. It was a short answer, but it landed hard in the room, right after officials gathered nearby to spotlight something else: the rescue of a U.S. airman this past weekend involving “hundreds” of troops, including special operations forces. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, called it “incredibly brave and courageous.” The way the president spoke, though—about Iran’s regime, about journalists, about what comes next—didn’t exactly match the tone of a victory lap.
That disconnect is where the war-crime debate has started bubbling up again. When asked whether bombing Iranian civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime, some experts in international humanitarian law have suggested it might. Trump dismissed the question: “No, not at all,” he said, adding, “I hope we don’t have to do it.” Then, almost sharply, he shifted to another theme—source protection and retaliation—saying “The person who did the story will go to jail” if they do not reveal their sources.
Earlier, hours after the airman was rescued on Easter Sunday—flying across the Iranian border into safe territory just after midnight—Trump posted on social media threatening to blow up Iran’s bridges and power plants unless it reopened the Strait of Hormuz. The imagery and the stakes have been mixing in people’s heads ever since: one minute, a tense rescue; the next, threats aimed at infrastructure. Even in the White House Easter Egg Roll, the policy math has been harshly explicit. Trump said envoys from Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey submitted a proposal for a 45-day ceasefire and reopening of the strait, calling it “not good enough” but “a very significant step.”
Still, Iran’s response has been defiant and conditional. Iranian leaders have said they will reopen the critical waterway only after the U.S. pays reparations for war-related damages and energy losses throughout the country. Under the plan described, there would be a new protocol requiring certain ships to pay a fee—reports put it in some cases up to $2 million—for transiting the strait. Trump didn’t sound persuaded. “What about us charging tolls?” he said on Monday. “Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner.”
On the military side, the weekend mission itself added another layer of urgency. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the rescue operation to taunt Iran, saying the airman was “under the constant threat of Iranian forces closing in,” and calling the threat “impotent,” with Iran “embarrassed and humiliated.” The mission involved 155 aircraft. At least three were hit by what Trump called “very, very heavy” Iranian fire. The downed flyer, injured after ejecting from his fighter jet after it was struck, reportedly climbed 7,000 feet and “nested in a rock crevice” while awaiting extraction deep behind enemy lines. And when Trump asked how many troops were involved, Gen. Caine said, “I’d love to keep that a secret.”
Trump’s warning on infrastructure didn’t just stay hypothetical. He said he ordered the destruction of Iran’s largest bridge after Iran shut down a prospective ceasefire last week, saying, “Within 10 minutes after I gave that order, that bridge was over.” The strike on the newly built suspension bridge between Tehran and Karaj killed eight people. That’s part of why some analysts and legal discussions have focused on whether targeting bridges and power plants—civilian-linked infrastructure—could violate the Geneva Conventions.
And yet Trump framed the issue as manageable. He said his advisers reportedly counter that roads and electricity are valid military targets, and pointed out the Pentagon employs upward of 10,000 military and civilian lawyers. Retired Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown has said legal opinions are often split, with some issues “rock-solid” and others “threadbare.” Trump said he would rather not strike Iranian power plants, particularly since “we may even get involved by helping them rebuild their nation.”
But he also insisted he’s not concerned about what massive strikes could do to Iran’s civilian population—claiming that when U.S. bomb strikes stop, Iranian civilians tell him they are “upset” and ask the U.S. to “please come back,” then saying they would suffer it “in order to have freedom.”
Outside the briefing, someone passing by near the White House carried the smell of fresh coffee—burnt a bit at the edges—and the usual spring noise hung in the air. Indoors, the president’s threats had a different temperature. Whether diplomacy survives the deadline, and how seriously the legal questions will be taken before any irreversible action, may depend on the next choice—tomorrow night, or not, depending on what he decides to say next.
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