Donald Trump has warned that Iran's "whole civilisation will die" unless Tehran complies with his demands, as the world awaited the expiry of an 8pm EDT (1am BST) deadline. In a social media post, the president said: "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will." He had previously said US bombing would destroy all of Iran's power stations and bridges within four hours of his deadline.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards signalled their readiness to escalate the conflict, threatening to retaliate "beyond the region" and to "deprive the US and its allies of oil and gas in the region for years". The White House issued a statement insisting the US was not considering the use of a nuclear weapon, after Vice-President JD Vance triggered concern by saying US forces had tools they "so far haven't decided to use".
Pope Leo described Trump's threats as "truly unacceptable" and urged people worldwide to contact their political leaders to call for an end to the conflict. "Today as we all know there was this threat against all the people of Iran. This is truly unacceptable," he said, adding that attacks on civilian infrastructure were "against international law" and a sign of "hatred, division, destruction".
With the deadline approaching, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly requested that Trump delay his ultimatum by two weeks to "allow diplomacy to run its course". Sharif also asked Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz "as a goodwill gesture" and for a two-week ceasefire. Reuters cited a senior Iranian official as saying Tehran was reviewing the ceasefire proposal "positively".
Reports indicated explosions in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday evening, with sirens heard in Bahrain and interceptors engaging targets over the United Arab Emirates. Iran's First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref said the country was prepared for all possibilities, while President Masoud Pezeshkian said more than 14 million Iranians had registered to sacrifice their lives to defend Iran.
Tehran has presented its own 10-point plan, insisting on long-term security guarantees, which Trump rejected as "not good enough". The president has set deadlines before and allowed them to pass, but insisted Tuesday would be "one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World" unless something "revolutionarily wonderful" occurred.
