President Donald Trump issued a stark threat Tuesday, then declaring on a Truth Social post, "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" unless Iran lifts restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. EST.
Critics globally condemned the threat as genocide.
Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan characterized Trump's statement as "ravings of a homicidal maniac and sociopath," while British journalist Owen Jones warned Trump appeared to threaten nuclear weapons use.
Liberal influencer Brian Krassenstein called it "literally a genocide," on a X post. Independent journalist Ethan Levins also took to X and reacted to Trump's statement, "He's about to genocide 90 million people."
Trump has been threatening Iran since March, initially threatening power plants. Throughout the past weeks he escalated his threats, targeting civilian infrastructure including water treatment and bridges — potential war and genocidal crimes according to United Nations.
Negotiations between the Trump administration and Tehran have stalled, according to reporting by WSJ.
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