Trump says a 'whole civilization will die tonight' as deadline for Iran looms

ruff threatens 'a unit civilisation testament die tonight' ahead of Iran deadline

Trump claims Iran could be taken out 'in one night'

U.S. Strikes targets on Kharg Island ahead of Trump's deadline for Iran

Trump brushes off war-crime concerns as he threatens escalation against Iran

Donald Trump is prone to apocalyptic language, but has never used it to this degree in the war with Iran. He has threatened "a whole civilization will die tonight" unless Iran capitulates.

The U.S. President has a track record, in both politics and business, for ratcheting up the pressure immediately before a deadline to make a deal. He seeks the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is resistant because it is their greatest leverage.

Here are four scenarios on what might happen next:

1) Trump announces a deal

The two sides are in talks, albeit indirectly. Trump may announce they have struck a deal or are close enough to one. The details will matter here. 

In January he set a deadline to acquire Greenland, then announced a "framework of a future deal," even though one has never appeared. That won't be possible with Iran. Either ships will be moving through the strait, or they will still face risk.

Trump is under pressure from Congress and some in his own administration to find any off-ramp and accept nearly any deal. But there is a countervailing force, led by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to continue attacks to achieve a more punishing agreement from Iran.

2) No deal, attacks continue 

If there is no deal, the war may continue much as it has been. Trump may continue to escalate the rhetoric, but the rate and nature of military targeting stays the same. 

3) Striking Iran's oil infrastructure

Earlier in the conflict, the U.S. Asked Israel to limit its attacks on Iran's oil infrastructure. Long-term damage to Iran's ability to produce, export and ship oil would leave the gas price at significantly elevated levels for years. That has not yet happened. But destruction of Kharg Island, where Iran exports 90 per cent of its oil, would destroy the country's economy and leave oil globally in a difficult position. That makes this a less likely option.

4) Massive increase in attacks

Before threatening to kill the entire civilization (which would only be possible with the very, very unlikely use of a nuclear weapon), Trump said he would target Iran's power plants and bridges. 

This would involve a combination of precision strikes using fighter aircraft and guided missiles, and attacks from B-52 aircraft which can carry thousands of pounds of explosive ordnance. 

It would be an effort to violently push the regime into capitulation. While the top echelon of the regime has been killed, it still leads the country — with no signs yet that it is about to crack.

Carney declares support for strikes on Iran

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Canadian military will not get involved in the conflict in Iran, but did say he supported the U.S. Airstrikes.

Carney was asked whether he regrets his initial back up, as detailed in the video above, for the U.S.-Israeli war in the Middle East. 

The prime minister defended his government's statements in early March, pointing to what he described as decades of threats posed by the Iranian regime. 

"It is one of the largest state sponsors of terrorism in the region and more broadly," Carney said, mentioning the 2020 downing of a Ukrainian plane that killed all 176 people on board, including 63 Canadian citizens.

Carney said the "point we were making was the desirability of the ending of both that state-sponsored terrorism and the nuclear ambitions of Iran; that remains the case."

He added that, "Canada makes the distinction … between those objectives and obligations under international law."

Carney urges all parties in Iran war not to target civilians, civilian infrastructure amid Trump threats

Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's threat that 'a whole civilization will die tonight' if Iran doesn't meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada expects all involved parties to respect international laws. 'That means not targeting certainly civilians or civilian infrastructure,' Carney said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is urging "all parties" in the war in the Middle East not to target civilians or civilian infrastructure and to respect international laws and humanitarian responsibilities. 

"Canada expects all parties in this conflict, in any conflict, to respect international laws, the rules of engagement, and that means not targeting, certainly, civilians or civilian infrastructure," Carney said at a housing funding announcement in Brampton, Ont.

"It's a point we've made publicly and privately."

He said that while Canada is not "at the centre" of peace talks, it is privy to some information coming out of them. 

"There is often a gap between what's said publicly and what's happening privately," Carney said. 

Toronto's Iranian community hoping for peaceful resolution in Middle East conflict

Iran has reportedly rejected a new ceasefire proposal, as a deadline from U.S. President Donald Trump to open the Strait of Hormuz looms. Tyler Cheese shows us how Toronto’s Iranian community is watching closely and hoping for a peaceful resolution.

iranian language Canadians ar expressing their worry for their rural area as the U.S. And sion escalate strikes and threats on infrastructure that affects civilians. 

"People feel powerless," said Mehrdad Hariri, a Toronto-based member of Canadians for Democracy in Iran. 

Hariri said that by targeting such facilities, the U.S. Is only giving the Iranian regime a "false moral legitimacy to defend itself as [if] they are defending Iran as a country."

Hamid Gharajeh of the Iran Democratic Association says the key to overpowering the regime is to give more power to the Iranian people. 

"This regime has shown that it's really afraid of its organized resistance," Gharajeh said. "It's executing members of the organized resistance of the people's majority of Iran every day."

There's an ongoing debate over whether Trump's threats to blow up every power plant and bridge in Iran would constitute a war crime — if he follows through.

The debate centres on whether there's a valid military objective in attacking such targets. 

The Geneva Conventions allow for some wiggle room if a piece of civilian infrastructure is also used for military purposes. 

But the spokesman for UN Secretary General António Guterres says even if a power plant qualifies as a military target, international humanitarian law prohibits such an attack if it would cause excessive harm to civilians. 

"Whether something is a crime or not a crime would have to be decided by a court, but any attack on civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law and a very clear one," Stéphane Dujarric told a UN press briefing on Monday.

Elizabeth Shackelford, a former U.S. Diplomat, says there's no point debating what she called the "legal minutiae" of Trump's threatened strikes.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since the war between Iran, the U.S. And Israel began on Feb. 28, according to compiled figures from authorities and rights groups.

In Iran, U.S.-based rights group HRANA said 3,546 people have been killed since the war erupted. It said 1,616 of those were civilians, including at least 244 children. Meanwhile, the Red Cross puts the toll at at least 1,900 dead and 20,000 injured.

Lebanon has reported nearly 1,500 deaths from Israeli strikes, while attacks linked to Iran have killed at least 23 people in Israel.

Deaths have also been reported in Iraq and the Gulf countries of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman among regional security forces and civilians. 

Thirteen U.S. Troops have been killed, according to Reuters, which noted the figures could not be independently verified.

With each passing day of the war, more Canadians are facing gas prices north of $2.

Restricted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian regime in response to the American and Israel aggression has created one of the largest oil shortages in history.

This updating chart shows which parts of Canada are seeing the highest prices and what the 30-day trend looks like.

Tehran has rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war, a senior Iranian source told Reuters. 

Talks on a lasting peace could begin only after the U.S. And Israel end their strikes, guarantee they won't resume strikes, and offer compensation for damages. Any future settlement must leave Iran in control of the strait, imposing fees on ships that use it, the source said on condition of anonymity.

A proposal brokered by Pakistan called for a temporary ceasefire and the lifting of Iran's effective blockade of the strait, while putting off a broader peace settlement for further talks, according to a source familiar with the plan. 

But Iran's 10-point response, as reported by the IRNA news agency on Monday, would require a permanent end to the war, the lifting of sanctions and a promise of the reconstruction of Iranian sites damaged by the Israeli-U.S. Strikes. 

It would also include a new mechanism to govern passage through the Strait of Hormuz, previously an open international waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas typically passed. 

One of the big questions looming over Trump's 8 p.m. ET deadline for Iran to agree to a deal is whether he'll actually stick to it. 

On March 21, Trump issued an ultimatum for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face the obliteration of its power plants.

Just hours before that deadline was due to arrive, he gave Iran five more days to comply, claiming progress in negotiations.

Then on March 26, he said the U.S. Would hold off on its threat for another 10 days.

That timeline was set to expire on Monday, but over the weekend, Trump abruptly extended the deadline to Tuesday without offering a clear reason.

This pattern clearly opens up the possibility that he will yet again find a way to back down from his threats to launch attacks on power plants and bridges. Today's comments by JD Vance that the U.S. Is confident it can get a response from Tehran before the deadline could be laying the groundwork for such a scenario.

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. Benchmark for oil prices, is priced at $115 US — just a few dollars less than the peaks reached during Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Meanwhile, Brent crude — known as the international standard — is priced at $110 US a barrel.

U.S. Markets were down at the start of the trading day. The S&P 500 fell 0.4 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 169 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5 per cent.

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