Iranians Brace as Trump Hormuz Deadline Expires
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- Trump set an 8pm US Eastern Time (23:00 GMT) deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to bomb Iran's electricity, bridges, and critical infrastructure — attacks the article notes would violate international law by deliberately targeting civilian sites
- Iranians are scrambling to prepare: buying generators, bread, flour, and bottled water, with one Gilan resident spending his Nowruz holiday earnings on a 25-litre generator as electrical device prices have surged since the war began
- Karaj's B1 bridge was struck on April 2 in a major US-Israeli attack, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 90, according to journalist Milad Alavi based in the city near Tehran
- The IRGC warned it would expand its target list to critical infrastructure in neighboring countries if the threatened US strikes proceed, escalating the risk of a wider regional conflict
- State media released footage of Iranians demonstrating at power plants and on major bridges to protest the threats, with musician Ali Ghamsari pledging to keep protesting at Tehran's Damavand power plant
- Iran's Ministry of Energy said it is 'fully prepared for the worst scenarios' and asked citizens to remain calm, while former President Hassan Rouhani rejected Trump's claim that Iran's 'whole civilisation will die tonight'
Why it matters: With Trump's 8pm ET Strait of Hormuz deadline expiring, over 90 million Iranians face potential strikes on power grids and water systems that would directly hit civilians reliant on electricity for medical equipment and refrigeration. The IRGC pledged to expand strikes to neighboring countries' infrastructure, and Tehran's state-organized demonstrations at power plants frame the standoff as an existential national crisis.
