President Donald Trump issued a dire warning, stating that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz, as he set a Tuesday night deadline for Tehran to comply, according to Al Jazeera.

Escalating Threats and International Reactions

Trump’s comments came amid growing tensions between the United States and Iran, following the U.S. and Israel’s military actions in Iran beginning on February 28 — the president shared a social media post on Truth Social, threatening to irreversibly obliterate Iran if his demands are not met.

Iran is the heir to the millennia-old Persian civilization, one of the most influential in human history; Trump’s rhetoric has escalated significantly in recent weeks, with legal experts condemning his threats as a potential war crime.

Yasmine Taeb, legislative and political director for the advocacy group MPower Change Action Fund, described Trump’s threats as ‘the words of a deranged, unstable madman.’ She called for a ‘stronger reaction’ from US lawmakers and the international community against Trump’s rhetoric and policies.

Democratic Response and Calls for Action

Several Democratic members of the US Congress condemned Trump’s threats and called for an end to the war; Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, called Trump an ‘extremely sick person’ after the president’s post on Tuesday.

Senator Schumer wrote on X that ‘each Republican who refuses to join us in voting against this wanton war of choice owns every consequence of whatever the hell this is.’ Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, urged legislators from Trump’s Republican Party to ‘put patriotic duty over party and stop the madness.’

Jeffries said Congress must immediately end the ‘reckless war of choice in Iran’ before Donald Trump ‘plunges us into World War III.’

Last month. Congress failed to pass a resolution to curb Trump’s powers to attack Iran. Critics argue that the president has not obtained authorization from lawmakers to launch the military campaign against Iran, a violation of the US Constitution, which grants Congress the power to declare war.

Legal and Political Implications

On Tuesday. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib called for the invocation of the 25th Amendment of the constitution to remove Trump from office because he is unfit to serve, though Tlaib wrote, ‘After bombing a school and massacring young girls, the war criminal in the White House is threatening genocide.’

Meanwhile, Iran’s regime called on civilians to shield power plants as Trump threatened ‘a whole civilization’ with destruction if Tehran doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Energy industry experts warned that gas prices in the U.S. could near a record high later this month if the Strait of Hormuz remains sealed.

Trump and top national security officials shed new light on the daring rescues of two American airmen who were shot down over Iran last week. U.S. forces mounted an urgent and high-risk rescue effort to find an airman who was forced to eject from a downed F-15E fighter jet over Iran.

As tensions continue to rise, the international community watches closely, with many calling for de-escalation and diplomatic solutions to prevent further escalation of the conflict.