OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
9:29 AM – Tuesday, April 7, 2026
President Donald Trump warned that a ‘civilization will die’ if Iran fails to meet a fast-approaching deadline to cut a deal with the United States to open the Strait of Hormuz.
In an ominous Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, the president declared, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
“I don’t want that to happen,” he amended, “but it probably will.”
The message came 12 hours before Trump’s 8:00 p.m. ET deadline for Tehran to allow traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil supply is distributed out of the Gulf countries.
“However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?” Trump wrote. “We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end.”
“God Bless the Great People of Iran!” his post concluded.
President Trump referred in his post to the Islamic regime that took power in Iran in the late 1970s. Early in the aftermath of the Islamic revolution, militants took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage for 444 days while the Shah was in America receiving cancer treatment. Though the Americans were released immediately after President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, the crisis solidified decades of animosity between Iran and the United States for years to come.
Trump mulled regime change in Iran months ago, calling it “the best thing” for both Iranians and Americans. Weeks later, Israel and the U.S. struck Tehran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was swiftly propped up to replace him, but has been elusive, leading to speculation that he was killed or badly injured in a military strike.
Amid uncertainty about the younger Khamenei’s condition, Trump expressed willingness to work with other members of the government in Tehran, such as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, after they sent the U.S. 10 oil tankers through the Strait to prove their legitimacy.
Over the weekend, Trump set Monday as Iran’s deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz, or otherwise face “Hell” from the American military. However, he pushed the date back to Tuesday to observe the Easter holiday.
Iranian state media shared a threat from its military leaders of a “devastating and widespread” retaliation if Trump follows through on his promises to hit crucial energy infrastructure. The Trump administration has been careful to avoid key oil infrastructure in Iran thus far, aiming to give the country better chances of recovery after the conflict ends.
According to a U.S. official who spoke to Reuters on Tuesday, the U.S. has carried out strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, approximately 300 miles northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. The official said that two bridges and a train station were targeted, though oil facilities were unaffected. Though the U.S. avoided disrupting global energy markets, the strikes marked a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict.
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