Trump: "A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight"
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- Trump posted on social media on April 7, 2026 that "a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again" if Iran does not accept his deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his 8 p.m. ET deadline, adding he hoped "regime change" could yield "something revolutionarily wonderful."
- Iran's IRGC declared the same day that if the US "crosses red lines," Iran's response will extend beyond the region, leaving the US and its allies "deprived of oil and gas in the region for years," and that the Strait of Hormuz "would never return to its previous status."
- The US sent a ceasefire proposal to Iran through Pakistan, but Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected it as "not acceptable," and Trump said Iran's counter-response was "not good enough."
- Vice President JD Vance, speaking from Hungary, said the US has "tools in our toolkit that we so far haven't decided to use" against Iran; the White House Rapid Response account forcefully denied this implied nuclear weapons use, calling critics "absolute buffoons."
- Brig. Gen. Majid Mousavi of the IRGC Aerospace Force announced the deployment of "newly refreshed launchers of dual units of Fateh and Khaybar-shekan missiles" and launched what he called the 99th wave of attacks, striking the Sadara, ExxonMobil, and Dow Chemical petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia's Al Jubail and the Chevron Phillips complex in Al Juaima'h.
- Kharg Island — Iran's key oil and gas export terminal in the Persian Gulf — was struck multiple times, per Iran's Mehr news agency, as Tehran reported US and Israeli attacks on bridges and railways used by the Revolutionary Guards.
Why it matters: Iran reports strikes on Kharg Island and Saudi petrochemical complexes owned by ExxonMobil, Dow, and Chevron Phillips, while the IRGC vows to leave the US 'deprived of oil and gas for years.' Trump's 8 p.m. ET deadline on April 7 now hangs over a live conflict, with Iran declaring the Strait of Hormuz will 'never return to its previous status.'
