US politicians from both sides of the aisle have reacted with alarm to President Donald Trump's expletive-laden threat against Iran, posted on his Truth Social platform on Easter Sunday. In the message, Trump called on Iran to 'open the fuckin' strait [of Hormuz], you crazy bastards' and threatened to attack the country's power plants and bridges on Tuesday, which he dubbed 'Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day'.
The threat comes as the Trump administration presses Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for oil and gas that has been effectively shut since the US and Israel launched military action against Iran in late February. Trump has set several deadlines for Tehran, and has also threatened to withdraw from Nato over European allies' refusal to intervene.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally turned critic, said the president had 'gone insane' and called on Christians in his administration to 'beg forgiveness from God'. She argued that the strait was closed because of the 'unprovoked war' based on 'nuclear lies', and that threatening to bomb infrastructure hurts the Iranian people. 'This is not making America great again, this is evil,' she wrote.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer described Trump's rant as that of 'an unhinged madman', while Senator Bernie Sanders called it 'dangerous and mentally unbalanced'. Senator Chris Murphy said the message was 'completely, utterly unhinged' and suggested invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.
Iranian deputy for communications Mehdi Tabatabaei responded that Iran would only open the strait after receiving compensation for war damages, and said Trump had 'resorted to obscenities and nonsense out of sheer desperation and anger'.
